Study of migration and safety assessment of aluminum in food contact aluminum and aluminum alloy materials and articles in China

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyze aluminum migration in food contact aluminum and aluminum alloy materials and articles on the Chinese market under different migration test patterns, to discuss the differences in aluminum migration under different test conditions and product categories. And to assess the exposure risk of aluminum migration in food contact aluminum and aluminum alloy materials and articles.MethodsIn migration test, 4% (V/V) acetic acid, 5 g/L citric acid and tap water were selected. The migration test conditions were boiling for 0.5 h, room temperature for 24 h, and boiling for 2 h. The aluminum migration was detected by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). According to the migration test result, extreme hypothesis method was used to evaluate dietary exposure.ResultsThe migration amount of aluminum in food contact aluminum and aluminum alloy materials and articles had no obvious regularity in the three migration tests, and the migration amount in 4% (V/V) acetic acid and 5 g/L citric acid were much higher than that in the artificial tap water. The result of dietary exposure assessment showed that the estimated dietary exposure of aluminum through aluminum and aluminum alloy products could reach 0.65 to 51.21 mg/(kg·BW·w) and has certain risks.ConclusionIt is suggested that the risk of aluminum intake from aluminum and aluminum alloy materials and articles for food contact is high, so further exposure assessment should be carried out based on more accurate food consumption data. At the same time, risk management measures should be taken to control the migration of aluminum, and the migration risk of aluminum should be controlled by means of science popularization and industry innovation.

Keywords

• food contact aluminum and aluminum alloy materials and articles
• aluminum
• migration test
• risk assessment