Chlorinated paraffins in beeswax wraps – method development and its application to new and used samples

Abstract

Short-chain (SCCPs) and medium-chain (MCCPs) chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are highly complex mixtures extensively used as flame retardants, plasticizers, and lubricants. Next to the presence in food, CPs were repeatedly detected in food contact materials. Within this product class, beeswax wraps have recently gained popularity as a sustainable alternative to conventional packaging materials. A novel sample clean-up procedure consisting of microwave-assisted extraction, a freezing-out step with acetonitrile, countercurrent chromatography, and adsorption chromatography enabled the quantification of CPs in all samples (n = 26) by GC/ECNI-Orbitrap-HRMS. New beeswax wraps (n = 19) contained 0.2–15 (average: 2.8) µg CPs per dm² beeswax wrap. Used wraps were in the same range except for two samples which showed higher levels (20 and 260 µg/dm² CPs). This produced evidence that beeswax wraps can sorb high amounts of CPs from contaminated (indoor) environments during storage. Due to the lack of experimental data, a theoretical calculation of the transfer of CPs from beeswax wraps into food shows that these can contribute to human exposure to CPs.