Styrene Monomer Migration from Expanded Polystyrene Into Food Acids and Ethanol

Abstract

Migration of styrene monomer from expanded polystyrene (EPS) at various time intervals (3 hr, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 18 days at 51OC) into nine different stimulants (water, 8% ethanol in water, 3% acetic acid, and 3 and 10% of food-grade citric, malic and tartaric acid) was determined using a modified FDA migration cell. Exposure to 8% ethanol resulted in the greatest average migration of styrene (147.6 µg/L) during 18 days of storage compared to all other stimulants tested. The concentration for styrene in 8% ethanol ranged from 49.3 to 228.5 µg/L over all exposure times. For all stimulants tested, styrene concentrations were greater than or equal to 22 µg/L after 3 hours of exposure. EPS exposed to malic (3 and 10%) and 10% tartaric acids had greater styrene migration than styrene exposed to all other acidic stimulants tested.