Prevalence, migration and exposure assessment of bisphenol compounds in pre-cooked foods

The rapid expansion of pre-cooked food industry has raised concerns about food safety. Bisphenol compounds (BPs), widespread contaminants in packaged foods, have unknown prevalence in pre-cooked foods. This study analyzed 63 retail pre-cooked food samples from China using online SPE-LC-MS, identifying 13 distinct BPs with total concentrations ranging from 0.803 to 380.991 ng/g. BPF had the highest detection frequency (DF), and bisphenol A bis(2,3-dihydroxypropyl) ether (BADGE·2 H₂O) exhibited the highest median and geometric mean concentrations. Comparisons of raw ingredients versus paired cooked samples showed no significant cooking-related changes, but BPZ and 4,4'-thiodiphenol (TDP) levels were significantly higher in packaged versus paired unpackaged samples. Furthermore, migration experiments conducted on paired actual samples revealed a significant increase in BP concentrations after in-package heating, indicating migration from packaging during heating. Exposure assessments showed that BADGE·2H2O posed relatively high exposure levels through pre-cooked food consumption, yet its chronic daily intake (CDI) remained well below the established tolerable daily intake (TDI). In contrast, the CDI of BPA exceeded the established TDI. This study demonstrated widespread contamination of BPs in pre-cooked foods and highlighted packaging migration as a critical risk factor. These results provided important insights for assessing health risks associated with pre-cooked food consumption.