Analytical procedure for quantifying five compounds suspected as possible contaminants in recycled paper/paperboard for food packaging

Because contaminants in recycled paper intended for food packaging could be a risk to public health, analytical methods are needed to identify and qua ntify residues of concern in paper/paperboard, The U.S. Food and Drug Admin istration is considering development of a guidance document for testing lev els of contaminants that might be retained through paper recycling processe s. An analytical procedure was developed using paper spiked with suspected contaminants at concentrations of 1-50 ppm in the paper. Benzophenone, dime thyl phthalate, anthracene, methyl stearate, and pentachlorophenol were int roduced by soaking the paper in a solution in acetone at 25 degreesC for 24 h; the paper was removed and dried by evaporating the solvent with nitroge n. The model contaminant residues were extracted from the paper using ultra sonication and quantified by GC with flame ionization and electron capture detectors. Recoveries from the spiked paper were 80-109% with a repeatabili ty of +/- 4%. The method was also used to analyze commercial recycled paper board to validate its applicability.