Tracing the melamine migration from three-piece tin cans into food simulants during coating process

Abstract

Melamine is commonly used to manufacture the coating of three-piece tin cans. It may migrate into food in the course of storage, threatening the health of consumers. This work aimed to trace the migration of melamine into food simulants (acetic acid, 3% v/v; ethanol, 10% v/v) during coating of three-piece tin cans in order to propose the critical points for food contamination. High-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect melamine in samples. The results indicated that the amount of melamine migrating in the overlay–spray process (step 8) is the largest, significantly higher than that of the other processes (P ≤ 0.05). It was also found that the main source of melamine in the packaging of metal containers is the coating. Therefore, the selection of coatings and the optimization of the process can reduce the migration of melamine.