73D-14 |
Changes of volatile compounds in ethylene vinyl alcohol with irradiation |
E. A. MILLER, National Center for Food Safety & Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology, 6502 S. Archer Rd., Summit-Argo, IL 60501 The FDA has approved irradiation of red meats, poultry and many other foods. However, only seven commercially relevant polymers have been approved by FDA for use with prepackaged foods intended for irradiation. Before, irradiation can be implemented with full versatility; there is a need to increase the number of polymers available to food irradiators. Before this can be done additional information on the formation of radiolytic compounds must be determined for many new polymers crucial to optimal food packaging. Our objective was to determine the concentration and safety concerns for all compounds increasing in response to irradiation for Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH), a prominent barrier material used in multilaminate packaging structures. EVOH pellets were milled to a fine powder and sealed in thermal desorption tubes with benzophenone as an internal standard. The tubes were subjected to 3 and 10 kGy of gamma-irradiation and thermally extracted using a Perkin-Elmer ATD 400 thermal desorption unit. Peaks were identified on a GC/MS 5890A Series II using ZB-1 column,60m. Our results showed that the principal radiolytic products of EVOH were CO, CO2, H2O, low molecular weight acids, alcohols and breakdown products of additives. The results suggested that EVOH will not produce unsafe levels of radiolytic compounds in prepackaged foods irradiated up to 10 kGy.
Session 73D, Food Packaging
|