Migration of epoxidized soya bean oil from plasticized PVC gaskets into baby food

Expoxidized soya bean oil (ESBO) is used as a plasticizer in PVC gaskets in lids for glass jars used for packaging of ready-cooked baby food. The migration of ESBO from the lids has been determined in 81 samples of different dishes of baby food, including purées of beef, pork, fish, poultry, berries and vegetables. The level of ESBO in baby food has been determined using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analytical procedure with a detection limit of 1.5 mg/kg. Residues of ESBO were found in all dishes except in blueberries. The levels ranged from < 1.5 to 50.8 mg/kg, with a mean of 11.9 mg/kg and a median of 7.8 mg/kg in food with detectable levels. Expoxidized fatty acids may also occur naturally in food. Baby food which had never been in contact with the lids was therefore analysed and no detectable levels of diepoxidized C18-methylester, which was used for the determination of ESBO, were found. That demonstrates that the presented levels of ESBO in the baby food are only due to migration from the lids and not of natural origin.