Plasticizer in fish oil and tocopherols

Plasticizers are added to synthetics, paints, varnishes, adhesives and other functional materials to make these more flexible and elastic.

Besides well-known phthalates, adipates, citrates, phosphates and derivatives of fatty acids play an industrial role as plasticizers. Plasticizers generally are soluble in fat, and the migration from packaging into fatty foods such as oils, pesto or seasoning sauces as well as into lipophilic food additives such as tocopherols is therefore of major importance.

Especially complex matrices such as fish oil and tocopherols pose significant challenges for the analytical methods. The Eurofins´ experts for organic contaminants have now expanded the existing analytical methods for plasticizers in food to fish oils and tocopherols and start offering an extremely sensitive UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis.

By using a phenylhexyl phase even chemically similar phthalate isomers (e.g. DBP/DIBP) can be fully separated. The subsequent soft ionisation technique ESI leads to high ion yields and formation of quasi-molecular ions. This technique allows for targeted fragmentation, a necessity for the triple-quadrupol mass spectrometry. These mass transfers significantly increase the selectivity and the differentiation of interfering peaks, the key to reduce the probability of false-positive or false-negative results substantially. 

Further information about the plasticizer scopes and LOQs is available on request.

For further information read our flyer „Migration of plasticizers into food“, or contact our expert.