Migration of Stabilizers from Polypropylene into Simulated Food

This study has investigated the migration of stabilizers from three polypropylene materials: a polypropylene homopolymer, a polypropylene block copolymer, and a polypropylene random copolymer in 10% ethanol, 3% acetic acid, 20% ethanol, 50% ethanol, and isooctane according to Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011. Measurements were performed at 20, 40, and 70°C and migration was evaluated from 10?min to 10 days. Measurements were performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with external calibration. The HPLC method provided high correlation coefficients, good precision, good accuracy, and suitable reproducibility. Diffusion coefficients for stabilizers were obtained using a rigorous model based on Fick’s second law and the values were between 6.1?×?10^?13 and 3.8?×?10^?9?cm²?s^?1. By applying an Arrhenius-type equation to the diffusion coefficients, an estimation of activation energy of the diffusion was obtained. The activation energies were from 39.97 to 98.75?kJ?mol^?1 for the stabilizers. The results indicate that the polypropylene material structure influenced the migration rate, which decreased in the order of the increasing crystallinity in the materials. The diffusion coefficients for stabilizers in the polypropylene random copolymer were higher than in the polypropylene block copolymer and polypropylene homopolymer. The random polypropylene copolymer had the lowest activation energy. These results show that a higher diffusion coefficient indicates a higher migration rate, and a system with a lower activation energy allows more migration.