Influence of oxygen and long term storage on the profile of volatile compounds released from polymeric multilayer food contact materials sterilized by gamma irradiation

The profile of volatile compounds released from 13 different multilayer polymeric materials for food use, before and after their exposure to gamma radiation, has been assessed by solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Thermosealed bags of different materials were filled with either air or nitrogen to evaluate the oxygen influence. One-third of the samples were analyzed without irradiation, whereas the rest were irradiated at 15 and 25 kGy. Half of the samples were processed just after preparation and the other half was stored for 8 months at room temperature prior to analysis. Very significant differences between unirradiated and irradiated bags were found. About 60–80 compounds were released and identified per sample. A huge peak of 1,3-ditertbutylbenzene was present in most of the irradiated samples. An outstanding reproducibility in all the variables evaluated (chromatograms, oxygen percentage, volume of bags) was noticed. Independently of filling gas, the results of unirradiated materials were almost identical. In contrast, the chromatographic profile and the odor of irradiated bags filled with nitrogen were completely different to those filled with air. Principal component analysis was performed and 86.9% of the accumulated variance was explained with the first two components. The migration of compounds from irradiated materials to the vapor phase was much lower than the limits established in the Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011.