Non-Target Screening of Chemical Migrants from Paper-Based Tea Bags: A Preliminary Investigation for Food Safety Assessment

The migration of compounds from food packaging is a growing global food safety concern, one that the Indonesian government is also addressing. This study specifically investigates the migration of compounds from tea bag articles. Utilizing liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight (LC-QToF) for non-target analysis, the research aimed to identify unknown compounds that leach from tea bags into brewed infusion as a preliminary step for further investigation. This research employed data-independent acquisition (DIA) to obtain more comprehensive data in a single run. Effective analytical procedures were applied to evaluate complex resulting data, enhancing the accurate and efficient identification of unknown compounds. The ESI+ dataset contained 97 unique responses, corresponding to 46 unknown compounds, while the ESI- dataset contained 57 unique responses, corresponding to 26 unknown compounds. Non-target screening tentatively identified plastic monomers, flame retardants, pesticide residues, and degradation products, some of which present potential health hazards. Among the candidates, two suspected compounds with potential health risks, glufosinate and 9-vinylanthracene, were identified. These two compounds show significant correlations with other identified substances, indicative of possible underlying relationships. Additionally, an assessment identified commonalities in the profiles of samples containing these compounds. These correlational insights can streamline subsequent investigations by priority consideration.