New Zealand device detects dangerous chemicals in plastic food containers

New Zealand engineers said Wednesday they have developed a ground-breaking device that can detect compounds in plastic that are linked to genetic and fertility defects in humans.

The engineers from Massey University said the compounds that leached from plastic food packaging into foods or beverages were a major health concern worldwide.

Dr Asif Zia developed an electrochemical sensing system that could rapidly quantify the synthetic compound, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or DEHP for short.

DEHP was used to make plastic products flexible, but it was classed as a teratogenic, or malformation causing compound as well as an endocrine-disrupter that interfered with the body's natural hormonal system.

The World Health Organization classed concentrations of DEHP greater than six parts per billion as hazardous for human health.

The 2.5-mm by 2.5-mm sensor could be swirled through a liquid and detect concentration levels as low as two parts per billion, using a test that took less than 10 minutes, Zia said in a statement.

"Previous technology required taking a sample to the lab, where they would first have to separate the molecule in question and then test it via flame ionization detection, mass spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography. This could take up to a week," said Zia.

Illegitimate addition of DEHP as clouding agent in beverages had been a controversial issue in China's Taiwan in 2011, when it prompted the recall of all exported beverages for testing, which had lasted months due to the unavailability of a reliable, rapid testing system as well as the enormous testing cost involved.

However, Zia said, the issue of contaminants leaching from plastic was global.

"Plastic is a way of life; it's hard to get around that. Every day we could be ingesting tiny amounts of these compounds which, over time, can build up in the body and cause problems." Endit