Assessment of overall migration and specific migration of 1,4-butanediol from a thermoplastic polyurethane film developed for fresh produce packaging

Abstract

A thermoplastic polyurethane (PU) polymer was synthesized, casted into films, and specific and overall migration (OM) tests were applied. A new method with gas chromatography–flame ionization detector was proposed to measure specific migration (SM) of 1,4-butanediol from the PU film. OM values in the four established simulants were under the legal limits. Determination of 1,4-butanediol migrating from PU film to the three established simulants showed maximum SM result as 1.5 mg/kg which was far below the legal limits. Therefore, the PU film has a good potential as a safe food contact material. Moreover, the analytical method used for determination of SM of 1,4-butanediol resulted in good analytical characteristics and detection limits at ppm level.