Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are fully-fluorinated man-made substances largely employed in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications, such as food packaging, fire fighting foams, detergents and non-stick cookware. Even if the introduction of these chemicals dates back to the 1950s, little attention has been given to their potential effects on both environment and human health, but the increasing interest on these substances has recently raised serious concerns about their carcinogenic activity, effects on reproduction and liver and kidney toxicity. Human exposure to PFCs is mainly through diet, for this reason the European Union issued the Commission Recommendation 2010/161/EU on the monitoring of these contaminants in food in the Member States. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are the two most important and investigated compounds of this group, being added to the POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) listing on the Stockholm Convention. Aim of this work was to carry out a preliminary monitoring on the presence of these two molecules in cow milks commercially available in Italy and France. The cooperation between the two laboratories has led to the development of an efficient method for the detection of various PFCs in milk, based on a liquid- liquid extraction with organic solvent followed by two purification steps through SPE cartridges and injection in LCMS/ MS system. The application of this method to several milk samples from Italy and France has shown similar results in the two countries, with PFOS and PFOA detected in most cases and at similar concentrations. However, these levels of contamination were sensibly lower than the ones observed in various studies on breast milk, and even more if compared to the data available on fish and seafood monitoring. In consideration of the above, cow milk seems not to be a major source of PFCs exposure in human diet
Barbarossa A, Durand S, Gazzotti T, Zironi E, Lugoboni B, Veyrand B, et al. (2011). Preliminary investigation on perfluorinated compounds presence in italian and french cow milk by means of a newly developed and validated LC-MS/MS method.
Preliminary investigation on perfluorinated compounds presence in italian and french cow milk by means of a newly developed and validated LC-MS/MS method
BARBAROSSA, ANDREA;GAZZOTTI, TERESA;ZIRONI, ELISA;LUGOBONI, BARBARA;PAGLIUCA, GIAMPIERO
2011
Abstract
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are fully-fluorinated man-made substances largely employed in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications, such as food packaging, fire fighting foams, detergents and non-stick cookware. Even if the introduction of these chemicals dates back to the 1950s, little attention has been given to their potential effects on both environment and human health, but the increasing interest on these substances has recently raised serious concerns about their carcinogenic activity, effects on reproduction and liver and kidney toxicity. Human exposure to PFCs is mainly through diet, for this reason the European Union issued the Commission Recommendation 2010/161/EU on the monitoring of these contaminants in food in the Member States. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are the two most important and investigated compounds of this group, being added to the POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) listing on the Stockholm Convention. Aim of this work was to carry out a preliminary monitoring on the presence of these two molecules in cow milks commercially available in Italy and France. The cooperation between the two laboratories has led to the development of an efficient method for the detection of various PFCs in milk, based on a liquid- liquid extraction with organic solvent followed by two purification steps through SPE cartridges and injection in LCMS/ MS system. The application of this method to several milk samples from Italy and France has shown similar results in the two countries, with PFOS and PFOA detected in most cases and at similar concentrations. However, these levels of contamination were sensibly lower than the ones observed in various studies on breast milk, and even more if compared to the data available on fish and seafood monitoring. In consideration of the above, cow milk seems not to be a major source of PFCs exposure in human dietI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
