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PubMed2005

Non-targeted multi-component analytical surveillance of plastic food contact materials: Identification of substances not included in EU positive lists and their risk assessment.

A procedure used by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority for surveillance of contaminants from plastic food contact materials (polyolefin drinking bottles, water boilers, polyamide cooking utensils and plastic multi-layer materials) is described. It is based on gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC/MS) analysis of food simulants exposed to plastic materials. Most migrants were substances not-intentionally added to the plastic (degradation products, impurities) or originated from non-plastic components, such as printing inks, adhesives, not-listed additives, solvents and coatings. Hence, the majority of the identified migrants were regulated by the general statements in the EU Framework Regulation, which neither specify limits nor requirements regarding risk assessment, rather than by specific migration controls. Risk assessment has been carried out for selected non-authorized substances. The analysis and the management of these substances and materials with respect to safety represents a challenge to the food authorities.

Aniline Compounds↗
PubMed1995

Systemic nickel: the contribution made by stainless-steel cooking utensils.

An extensive programme of cooking operations, using household recipes, has shown that, apart from aberrant values associated with new pans on first use, the contribution made by 19 Cr/9 Ni stainless-steel cooking utensils to nickel in the diet is negligible. The amount of nickel (0 to 8 micrograms) derived from the utensils in standard portions of various "aggressive" foodstuffs tested was less than that to be found occurring in 1 square of a bitter-sweet chocolate bar. New pans, if first used with acid fruits, can show a greater pick-up of nickel, which, in the worst case observed, amounted to approximately 1/5 of the normal daily intake for the average person (ca. 200 micrograms). This situation does not recur in subsequent usage, even after the pan has been cleaned by abrasion. A higher rate of nickel release was observed in new pans on first use from 4 manufacturers located in different countries and appears to be a general phenomenon. This could provide a possible explanation for the high pick-up of nickel by acid fruits reported in 1 instance in the literature.

Cooking↗
PubMed1992

Dietary and other sources of aluminium intake.

Aluminium in the food supply comes from natural sources including water, food additives, and contamination by aluminium utensils and containers. Most unprocessed foods, except for certain herbs and tea leaves, contain low (< 5 micrograms Al/g) levels of aluminium. Thus most adults consume 1-10 mg aluminium daily from natural sources. Cooking in aluminium containers often results in statistically significant, but not practically important, increases in the aluminium content of foods. Intake of aluminium from food additives varies greatly (0 to 95 mg Al daily) among residents in North America, with the median intake for adults being about 24 mg daily. Generally, the intake of aluminium from foods is less than 1% of that consumed by individuals using aluminium-containing pharmaceuticals. Currently the real scientific question is not the amount of aluminium in foods but the availability of the aluminium in foods and the sensitivity of some population groups to aluminium. Several dietary factors, including citrate, may affect the absorption of aluminium. Aluminium contamination of soy-based formulae when fed to premature infants with impaired kidney function and aluminium contamination of components of parenteral solutions (i.e. albumin, calcium and phosphorus salts) are of concern.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1977

Metallic contamination of food during preparation and storage: development of methods and some preliminary results.

A chemical procedure for studying trace metals leached from metallic cooking utensils and preserving cans used in the preparation and storage of food has been developed. The method consists in the destruction of the major part of organic matter with HNO3-vapour followed by a complete mineralization of residues with small amounts of HNO3 in Teflon bombs at 150-160 degrees C under a pressure of 3-12 kg/cm2, depending on the amount and composition of the samples. Subsequently, an ion-exchange step removes major components and concentrates the trace elements in a dilute HNO3-solution, suitable for analysis. The ion-exchange separation, which is performed with an automatic ion-exchange separator, is practically free from blank level problems, e.g., typically a mean of less than 2 per cent of the sample levels of the elements being determined. Preliminary results show that large amounts of aluminium are released from vessels to the water during boiling at the same pH-range which exist for most drinking water in Sweden.

Aluminum↗
PubMed2002

[Determination of organotin compounds in plastic products by GC/MS after ethyl derivatization with sodium tetraethylborate].

A simultaneous determination method for 9 organotin compounds in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and silicone products used as kitchen utensils and food packages was developed using ethyl derivatization with sodium tetraethylborate (NaBEt4). Organotin compounds were extracted with acetone-hexane (3:7) from the samples after acidification and the extract was filtered and concentrated at under 40 degrees C. After centrifugal separation, these compounds were derivatized with 2% NaBEt4 solution and determined by GC/MS. This method was applicable for simple routine analysis. Recoveries of spiked compounds were 49.1-118.1% for 3 PVC products and 88.8-102.2% for a siliconized paper. Monooctyltin, dioctyltin and trioctyltin compounds were found in all PVC food containers at the levels of 123-1,380 micrograms/g, 1,770-13,200 micrograms/g and 6.6-139 micrograms/g, respectively. They also were found in 3 gloves, 5 spouts, 1 hose and 5 pipes. Some PVC products contained monomethyltin, dimethyltin, trimethyltin, monobutyltin and dibutyltin compounds at the levels of 97.3-433 micrograms/g, 96.5-5,120 micrograms/g, 8.5-24.9 micrograms/g, 1.2-852 micrograms/g and 1.2-29.4 micrograms/g, respectively.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1996

Aluminium levels in Italian diets and in selected foods from aluminium utensils.

In Italy, data on aluminium concentration in food items are scarce although aluminium containers are widely used to cook, to freeze or to wrap foods (foil) and it is known that aluminium can migrate from containers to foods. Therefore, an experimental study was carried out to quantify aluminium exposure from ingestion of actual total diets and from migration from containers to foods in conditions representative of the actual use. Samples of 24 h diets were collected, homogenized, lyophilized and the amount of aluminium was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The aluminium concentrations ranged from 1.0 to 2.1 mg/kg of food; the intake of aluminium ranged from 2.5 to 6.3 mg/day. The amount of aluminium migrating from aluminium cookware was determined by cooking various representative foods in aluminium and in glass or stainless steel containers. From comparison of the results, the increase in aluminium because of migration from cookware was relatively low, with the highest release into acidic and salty foods. The daily intake of aluminium even if all the foods were prepared and stored in aluminium containers would be approximately 6 mg/day, a very low value compared with the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake of 7 mg/kg body weight (equivalent to 60 mg/day for an adult man) established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1985

[Occurrence of enteritis-causing agents in private households--a pilot study].

The increasing occurrence of infectious enteritis caused us to perform a prospective, epidemiological pilotstudy in households, in order to receive informations about the practicability of such a project and the bacteriology of food prepared at home as well. 10 families were asked to gather samples of all foodstuffs consumed during the day in separate containers and to keep them frozen at - 20 degrees C until collected by us once a week. Thus we received 4.683 samples within a 6-months-period. In the laboratory those samples were mixed following Table 2 and examined concerning the occurrence of enteropathogenic bacteria. Additionally we carried out an investigation of kitchensurfaces and -utensils by means of "Rodac"-plates. The evaluation of the food-samples showed no growth of salmonella, shigella, yersinia or campylobacter; however, in 267 samples were found staphylococci, in 191 enterococci, in 388 enterobacteria, in 28 aerobic sporeformers and in 144 fungi. Mainly sausage- and meatproducts appeared to be contaminated by staphylococci, also enterococci and enterobacteria (Fig. 1); other groceries were colonized by these microorganisms only to a minor degree. Fungi and aerobic sporeformers were isolated primarily in salads, bakery- and milkproducts (Fig. 2). Though some of the foodstuffs contained up to 10(5) pathogenes/g (Fig. 5), no cases of gastroenteritis were observed within our families. In case of mishandling (e.g. storage of food in refrigerators with temperatures above 4 degrees C) the development of foodborne enteritis has to be taken into account. The kitchens' examination showed a relatively high degree of contamination with pathogenic resp. potentially pathogenic organisms, represented in Fig. 7 by data obtained from different objects of investigation (surfaces, sinks and cloths).

Bacillus cereus↗
PubMed2003

[Air microflora of university cafeteria].

The numbers of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, yeasts and moulds were obtained by sedimentation method. The investigation included six areas, which have been separated on the ground of their function: 1. washing and peeling of potatoes and vegetables, 2. initial treatment of raw materials, 3. washing up of kitchen utensils, 4. cooking of meals, 5. serving of meals, 6. dining room. The samples of air were collected in 32 investigation points in the morning (8-8(30)) and in the afternoon (15-15(30)). Twelve series of measurements were carried out and in general 768 of air samples were tested. The results show that numbers of bacteria, moulds and yeasts were variable and received respectively 75-4550, 0-4565 and 0-290 cfu/m3. Analysis of variance proved that differences between mean number of microorganisms in the air were significant in dependence on the kind of place, time of a day and series of measurements. In the morning the highest microbiological contamination characterized the air of "washing and peeling" area. In the afternoon the number of all groups of microorganisms in the air of 1 and 2 areas was reduced. In the other places the amount of bacteria and yeasts increased, but mean number of moulds was reduced. Respectively 3% and almost 20% of air tested samples not answered for bacteria and fungi numbers recommended to kitchen areas. Filamentous fungi were represented mainly by Cladosporium sp. and Penicillium sp.

Air Microbiology↗
PubMed2004

Chopstick arthropathy: the Beijing Osteoarthritis Study.

OBJECTIVE: Several investigators have speculated that mechanical stress might play an important role in the development of hand osteoarthritis (OA). Chopsticks, used universally as eating utensils in China, increase joint loading in the first through third fingers. We conducted a population-based survey among elderly Chinese individuals living in Beijing, to explore whether chopsticks use is associated with prevalent hand OA. METHODS: We recruited a sample of persons ages 60 years and older, using door-to-door enumeration in randomly selected neighborhoods in Beijing. Subjects answered questions about the hand with which they use chopsticks, handedness, and pincer grip activities. Bilateral posteroanterior hand radiographs were obtained, and each joint was graded according to the Kellgren/Lawrence (K/L) scale. We defined a subject as having radiographic OA if at least 1 of his or her hand joints had radiographic OA (K/L score of > or =2). We defined a particular hand group (i.e., distal interphalangeal [DIP] joints, proximal interphalangeal [PIP] joints, or metacarpophalangeal [MCP] joints) as having OA if at least 1 joint of the group had radiographic OA. We calculated the prevalence of OA for each hand joint and, according to the status of chopsticks use, performed a matched analysis to examine the relationship between chopsticks use and the prevalence of hand OA. In the analysis, we excluded persons who reported a previous hand injury. Because most subjects used chopsticks with their dominant hand (a hand they would be expected to use more for all manual tasks), we also performed the analysis among subjects who reported that they had no hand preference when performing other activities and subjects who denied other pincer grip activities. RESULTS: A total of 1,008 men and 1,499 women were assessed. The prevalence ratio for OA of the thumb IP joint in the chopsticks hand was 1.2 (range 1.1-1.4) in men and 1.6 (range 1.4-1.7) in women; the prevalence ratio for OA of the second and third PIP joints was 1.5 (range 1.1-2.2) in men and 1.4 (range 1.2-1.7) in women; and the prevalence ratio for OA of the second and third MCP joints was 1.4 (range 1.2-1.6) in men and 1.4 (range 1.2-1.6) in women. The prevalence ratios in these joints were greater than the ratios in other MCP, PIP, or DIP joints from the same hand that were unlikely to be involved by chopsticks use, especially among women. Similar results were observed when the analyses were limited to ambidextrous subjects and subjects who did not engage in any other pincer grip activities. Thumb IP joint OA affected 26% of the entire population studied, and chopsticks use accounted for 19% of the risk of OA developing in this joint in men and 36% of the risk in women. CONCLUSION: This epidemiologic study investigated the relationship of chopsticks use to hand arthropathy. The results suggest that chopsticks use is associated with an increased prevalence of OA in the IP joint of the thumb, and in the second and third PIP and MCP joints.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Cadmium and lead concentrations in acid food simulants: the values of validation parameters are predominantly affected by interspecific differences of utensils.

The obvious toxicity of cadmium and lead is at the basis of compulsory concentration determinations for lixiviation solutions of ceramic and earthenware household receptacles such as cups, plates, bowls and others. Concentrations in the food simulant which exceed 0.100 +/- 0.005 mg Cd dm-2 and 1.00 +/- 0.05 mg Pb dm-2 for flat receptacles, 0.500 +/- 0.025 mg Cd l-1 and 5.00 +/- 0.25 mg Pb l-1 for low volume (< 5 l) receptacles and 0.250 +/- 0.025 mg Cd l-1 and 2.50 +/- 0.25 mg Pb l-1 for high volume (> 5 l) receptacles are not acceptable and measures were taken by the EU member state authorities to enforce these norm concentrations. Generally, the uncertainty on the results forwarded by the legislation amounts to 5%. This value does not at all match the pronounced variability observed for several 'identical' trade samples, but rather represents the inherent variability of spectrometric analyses alone. Considering that the coefficients of variation can be as high as approximately 30%, either the ranges of acceptable concentrations or the maximal allowable concentrations should be corrected. Aware of the negative health effects of heavy metal contamination and of the risk increase due to dietary intake, a downward adjustment of the acceptable concentration ranges to 0.07 mg Cd dm-2 +/- 12%, 0.30 mg Cd l-1 +/- 12% and 0.10 mg Cd l-1 +/- 12% and to 0.8 mg Pb dm-2 +/- 13%, 4.0 mg Pb l-1 +/- 13% and 1.50 mg Pb l-1 +/- 13% is suggested.

Cadmium↗
PubMed1988

[The distribution of microorganisms in household kitchens. I. Problems, experiments, results].

Epidemiological investigations have demonstrated that insufficient hygiene in households results in increasing health hazards. In order to be able to recommend ways to disrupt infection chains it was necessary to explore the most important pathways of cross-contamination. Housewives without special training were instructed to prepare a complete meal, in the kitchen of a modern, vacant apartment. Among the raw products provided was minced meat, contaminated with Sarcinae (unbeknown to the housewives) in a quantitative manner. When cooking and cleaning procedures were completed we analysed household utensils and surfaces by Rodac impressions and swabs. The test organisms could be detected on all inspected surfaces and on the dining-table with albeit different frequencies. The following locations showed an especially high degree of cross-contamination: a) working-surfaces, especially boards of wood and plastics. b) cutting-machines, c) kitchen-machines. These results agree with literature data. By careful disinfection, i.e. by application of a 0.5% solution of hypochlorite, the contaminations could be removed. We assessed this when arranging the kitchen for the next test. Since it is impossible to practise disinfection procedures in a household kitchen on the same scale as in an operating room, we tried to achieve at least a limited disinfection by household cleansers with germicidal properties. In our opinion a minimum reduction of five log stages, demanded in the medical area, can not be achieved in a household kitchen and indeed it is not necessary. A reduction of the microbial counts to 10% of the original value would already be useful, as toxic levels of microbial counts will be reached later especially when there is simultaneous refrigeration. Correct dosage proved to be one of the main practical problems because a discrepancy exists between the low concentration of tensids, necessary for cleaning, and the relatively high dose necessary for germ-killing compounds. Diluted DOMESTOS proved to be a cleaning agent and germicide, but was, however, blamed for chlorine odour, especially when diluted with warm water. A greater acceptance level was reached with a peroxide-containing cleanser, which, however, was not sufficiently germicidal, when applied in diluted form. The concentrated formulation was more effective in everyday experience, but for this housewives had to wear rubber gloves. This was reported to be complicated and uncomfortable, and indeed the search for better formulations must be continued. (In communication II comparisons with the bibliography and hygienic consequences will be published.)

Cooking and Eating Utensils↗
PubMed1997

"Stepping-sticks" and "seat-sticks": new types of tools used by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Sierra Leone.

In Tenkere, Sierra Leone, a community of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) spent long hours eating the fruits and flowers of the Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) tree. The branches of this species are covered in sharp thorns which make movement in their high canopies problematic for the chimpanzees. In an apparent attempt to increase their mobility and to ease the discomfort of lengthy bouts of eating in these trees, some of the Tenkere chimpanzees have been observed using stick tools as foot ("stepping-sticks") and body ("seat-sticks") protection against the painful thorns. This form of tool-using is culturally unique to the Tenkere chimpanzees, as at other sites where these apes have been observed eating parts of kapok trees, there are no published records of this tool technology. In three of the stepping-stick tool use incidents, the chimpanzee used the tool(s), held between their greater and lesser toes, in locomotion. This form of tool use is the first recorded case of habitually used tools that can be justifiably categorized as being "worn" by any known wild population of Pan troglodytes.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Lead in bone II: skeletal-lead content as an indicator of lifetime lead ingestion and the social correlates in an archaeological population.

Measurements of skeletal-lead content (by atomic absorption spectroscopy) were made for 16 individuals recovered from a Colonial (1670-1730) plantation cemetery in Virginia. Archaeological and historical evidence allowed the identification of two social groups (plantation proprietors and laborers) within this small population, each with vastly different estimated lifetime lead exposure, reflecting different living conditions. Measured bone-lead levels confirmed these differences. The character of plantation social organization proved a more important determinant of skeletal-lead content in the individuals studied than age, sex or race.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Lead concentrations and isotopic signatures in vintages of French wine between 1950 and 1991.

Vintages of French wine from 1950 to 1991 were analyzed for lead isotopes and concentrations to investigate whether they might be used to archive the isotopic composition of the anthropogenic lead in aerosols to which the vineyard was exposed. Early vintages (1950-1980) contained 78-227 ng/g of lead with 206Pb/207Pb ratios between 1.152 and 1.173, while the later vintages displayed significantly lower concentrations and a smaller range of isotopic ratios. The concentration of trimethyl lead, which is associated with automobile emissions, was found to be poorly correlated with total lead in the wines, suggesting that automobile aerosols were not a significant source of the lead. This result was supported by lead isotope data which showed a poor correlation with the available petrol and aerosol data. To identify its origin lead isotopes were measured in vineyard aerosols, soil particles, bottle caps, corks, and brass components used to dispense the wine. Although a dominant source could not be identified there was some evidence to suggest that brass which had a high lead concentration was a significant contributor. Because the lead contribution from the processing of wine was probably relatively high in the past it is unlikely that old vintages of wine will be a suitable archive for lead isotopes in aerosols.

Aerosols↗