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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #435343
Research Project: Technology Development, Evaluation and Validation for the Detection and Characterization of Chemical Contaminants in Foods

Location: Microbial and Chemical Food Safety

Title: Method development and validation for neutral PFAS in food packaging using fast low pressure gas chromatography – mass spectrometry

Author
item Sapozhnikova, Yelena
item ANTLE, JONATHAN - Orise Fellow

Submitted to: Journal of Chromatography A
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/3/2026
Publication Date: 7/3/2026
Citation: Sapozhnikova, Y.V., Antle, J. 2026. Method development and validation for neutral PFAS in food packaging using fast low pressure gas chromatography – mass spectrometry . Journal of Chromatography A. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2026.467242.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2026.467242

Interpretive Summary: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic fluorinated chemicals that have been widely used in commercial products for decades. Many volatile and semi-volatile PFAS, particularly those used in textiles, waterproof clothing, carpets, food packaging, and various coatings, remain insufficiently studied. To help address this knowledge gap, a new analytical method was developed and validated to measure 37 volatile and semi-volatile PFAS in consumer food packaging materials. This method provides a fast, reliable approach for detecting and quantifying these lesser known PFAS in packaging products.

Technical Abstract: A new method for the targeted analysis of 37 volatile and semi volatile PFAS was developed using fast low pressure gas chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC MS/MS). The targeted analytes included fluorotelomer alcohols, fluorotelomer acrylates and methacrylates, perfluoroalkane sulfonamides, and perfluoroalkane sulfonamido alcohols. Two GC phases for volatile PFAS were evaluated under low pressure vacuum outlet conditions, enabling a total GC run time of 8 minutes. Inter and intra day performance demonstrated high accuracy and reproducibility. The method was further validated for extraction of the 37 targeted PFAS in paper based and plastic food packaging materials at four spiking levels. Acceptable recoveries and reproducibility based on the AOAC SMPR® 2025.001 for PFAS in food packaging materials were achieved for nearly all analytes in plastic and paper samples. Method applicability was further tested by the analysis of 36 food packaging samples collected in 2021, 2024 and 2026. Notably, 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (6:2 FTOH) was detected in some 2021 samples (range: non-detect to 811 ng/g) but was absent in the samples collected in 2024 and 2026. The validated method provides a rapid approach for quantifying PFAS precursors, supporting improved assessment of precursor sources, transformation pathways, and potential contributions to total PFAS exposure.