Determination of styrene content in Gorgonzola PDO cheese by headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS)

Control of the composition of products that are intended for use as packaging material is essential, particularly when these products come into direct contact with food. It is well known that plastics are not inert and that their residual monomers, starting substances, and additives are able to migrate into the food they contact. Among plastics, styrene is a common compound found in many plastic containers that can also be produced by the oxidation of Penicillium roqueforti used in gorgonzola Protected Denomination of Origin cheese manufacturing. Therefore, solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was applied in the present work to determine the styrene content in packaged and unpackaged gorgonzola cheese samples to understand styrene migration phenomena from plastic containers.