Evaluation of the exposure to bisphenols from baby bottles and non-food containers used for food preservation in Cameroon

Bisphenols represent a family of compounds having two phenol groups and that are used as a polycarbonate monomer or as additives in various plastic polymers production. They are also known to be endocrine disruptors and cause cancer. However, most African countries do not have regulations on bisphenols utilization and limita-tion. The present work aimed to evaluate exposure to bisphenols from baby bottles and non-food containers used to preserve foods in Cameroon. To this goal, a survey of few industries, households and donut sellers was first carried out in order to identify risky behavior. Then three method were developed for the simultaneous analysis of bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol B (BPB) and bisphenol F (BPF) before and after derivatization with pyridine-3-sulfonyl chloride; followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) analysis. The results of the survey showed that 36.5% of households used old paint and industrial glue buckets to store their food and drinks; and 15% used polycarbonate baby bottles. The lower limits of detection (LOD) were 3.5, 1.5 and 1.4 ng L - 1 for BPA, BPB and BPF respectively. The application of the methods showed that at the exception of one brand of PC baby bottle, the estimated BPA daily intakes from the studied plastic containers were lower than the temporary tolerate daily intake (t-TDI) (4 & mu;g/kg of body weight/day).