PhD Oral Defence: Targeted and non-targeted analysis of plastic-related chemicals in food
PhD Oral Defence of Lei Tian, Food Science & Agricultural Chemistry
Plastic-related chemicals (PRCs) are substances related to plastics including the initial components of the plastics (e.g. monomers, antioxidants, additives) and the degradation products of plastics. The occurrence of PRCs in food and their potential adverse health effects have raised concerns about the health of consumers. To date, the surveillance of PRCs in food has mostly focused on the targeted screening and quantification of specific residues using tools such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography (GC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). For example, bisphenol A (BPA) and several phthalates have been detected in different types of food. To ensure food safety though, it is now acknowledged there is a need for analytical tools able to screen and identify not only “known” PRCs in food, but also the new “unknown” compounds. The main objective of my research is to develop and optimize a non-targeted method to investigate the PRCs in food with an emphasis on the investigation of the influence of data processing parameters on the identification of trace residues in food. In addition to optimizing the sample preparation steps, this research led to an in-depth investigation of the influence of data processing parameters on the identification of trace residues in food. This approach was applied to identify new PRCs and to understand the degradation of bisphenol A in incurred fish during thermal processing.