Analysis of plasticiser migration to meat roasted in plastic bags by SPME-GC/MS.

Plasticisers are compounds used in the polymer industry to increase the flexibility of plastics. Some of these compounds cause endocrine dysfunction in humans and animals by interfering with the production, release, transport, metabolism, binding or elimination of natural hormones in the body and are therefore recognised as endocrine disruptors. This paper describes cold-fibre solid-phase microextraction as a sampling technique to analyse eight plasticisers in spices and roasted chicken meat stored in plastic bags by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Limits of detection for this method ranged from 0.01 to 0.18 μg kg(-)(1). Diisobutyl phthalate and dibutyl phthalate were found in the samples of spices and roasted chicken meat. The highest concentrations of plasticisers were found in the spices used to cook the chicken meat.