Correlations between the levels of bisphenol-a-diglycidylether (BADGE) in cans, lids and homogenised food matrix from canned fish in oil.

A total 382 canned fish samples were collected from all 15 Member States an d Switzerland and analysed for BADGE in lids, cans, and fish. The results o f the cans and lids were compared to the corresponding concentrations found in fish. The cans, lids and fish were extracted with acetronitrile, follow ed by a membrane filtration and reverse phase HPLC analysis with fluorescen ce detection. The analysis of the cans and lids showed that 2.9% of the can s and 2.7% of the lids contained BADGE at a level superior to a provisional limit of 0.16 mg/dm(2), and 3% the fish samples contained BADGE at a level superior to a provisional limit of 1 mg/kg. The samples exceeding the limi t by a larger margin were mostly from anchovy cans for both the fish and th eir containers. However, the cans and lids alone did not prove to always be appropriate indicators for the levels found in the food matrix.