Case study: Targeted HPLC-MS/MS analysis of TFA and other USC-PFAS in beverages and waters from Italy and Asia

IF 6.3 1区农林科学 Q1 FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Control Pub Date : 2025-10-10 DOI:10.1016/j.foodcont.2025.111779

Alex Affricano , Alberto Asteggiano , Alice Di Bernardo , Orapan Apirakkan , Angkhana Khachonwongwattana , Savarin Sinaviwat , Claudio Medana

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Abstract

Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is an ultra-short chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), persistent, highly soluble, and increasingly detected in the environment. This study reports the first systematic screening of TFA and other USC-PFAS in Italy, covering surface, mineral, spring and tap waters as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. A total of 172 liquid samples were analyzed with a validated high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method. Additional bottled tap and surface waters from China and Thailand were included for international comparison.

Among eight target analytes, only TFA was detected. In Italian waters, concentrations were generally low (0.10–2.02 μg/L; mean 0.39 μg/L), with slightly higher levels in well and surface waters. In contrast, beverages showed markedly elevated concentrations, especially wines (45–407 μg/L; mean 138.8 μg/L), with several red wines exceeding 300 μg/L. Furthermore, the analysis of several wine heritages showed an interesting increase in TFA concentration from 1997 to 2024.

These findings demonstrate a distinct contamination profile of TFA, likely linked to atmospheric deposition, and reveal unexpectedly and high accumulation in wines, suggesting dietary exposure routes beyond drinking water. The work supports the inclusion of TFA in PFAS monitoring and regulatory frameworks and provides a preliminary comparison with Asian regions, where Chinese waters showed higher levels (0.56–1.85 μg/L) and Thai waters were consistently below detection. Finally, the preliminary analysis on wine vintages shows an increase in TFA concentration during the years and paves the way to a future and more throughout systematic study on the increasing presence of TFA in this matrix.

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案例研究：针对意大利和亚洲饮料和水中TFA和其他USC-PFAS的HPLC-MS/MS分析

三氟乙酸（TFA）是一种超短链单氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS），具有持久性、高可溶性，在环境中越来越多地被检测到。本研究报道了意大利首次对TFA和其他USC-PFAS进行系统筛选，涵盖地表水、矿泉水、泉水和自来水以及含酒精和非酒精饮料。采用高效液相色谱-串联质谱（HPLC-MS/MS）方法对172份液体样品进行分析。另外包括来自中国和泰国的瓶装自来水和地表水，以便进行国际比较。在8种目标分析物中，仅检测到TFA。在意大利水域，浓度普遍较低（0.10-2.02 μg/L，平均0.39 μg/L），井水和地表水的浓度略高。相比之下，饮料的浓度明显升高，尤其是葡萄酒（45-407 μg/L，平均138.8 μg/L），一些红葡萄酒的浓度超过300 μg/L。此外，对几个葡萄酒遗产的分析显示，从1997年到2024年，TFA浓度出现了有趣的增长。这些发现证明了TFA的独特污染特征，可能与大气沉积有关，并揭示了葡萄酒中意想不到的高积累，表明除了饮用水之外的饮食暴露途径。该研究支持将TFA纳入PFAS监测和监管框架，并提供了与亚洲地区的初步比较，其中中国水域的TFA含量较高（0.56-1.85 μg/L），而泰国水域一直低于检测水平。最后，对葡萄酒年份的初步分析表明，TFA浓度在这些年里有所增加，这为未来以及更多关于TFA在这个矩阵中增加的系统研究铺平了道路。

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来源期刊

Food Control 工程技术-食品科技

CiteScore

12.20

自引率

6.70%

发文量

758

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： Food Control is an international journal that provides essential information for those involved in food safety and process control. Food Control covers the below areas that relate to food process control or to food safety of human foods: • Microbial food safety and antimicrobial systems • Mycotoxins • Hazard analysis, HACCP and food safety objectives • Risk assessment, including microbial and chemical hazards • Quality assurance • Good manufacturing practices • Food process systems design and control • Food Packaging technology and materials in contact with foods • Rapid methods of analysis and detection, including sensor technology • Codes of practice, legislation and international harmonization • Consumer issues • Education, training and research needs. The scope of Food Control is comprehensive and includes original research papers, authoritative reviews, short communications, comment articles that report on new developments in food control, and position papers.