Migration Behavior of Aldehydes in Laminated and Non-Laminated Food-Contact Paper Materials

Headspace gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) was adopted to detect and screen volatile substances in selected commercially available paper tableware with and without lamination. At an equilibrium temperature of 150 °C and an equilibrium time of 35 min, a total of 25 compounds were detected in non-laminated paper, and 55 compounds were detected in laminated paper. Six volatile compounds were detected in both paper samples with and without lamination, namely n-hexanal, furfural, benzaldehyde, n-octanal, nonanal, and decanal. The total concentrations of the six target substances in non-laminated paper samples ranged from 254 to 436 μg/mL, while those in laminated paper samples were in the range of 217–1550 μg/mL. The detection rates of all six target analytes (n-hexanal, furfural, benzaldehyde, n-octanal, nonanal and decanal) in the samples were ≥92.9%. In addition, a systematic study was carried out on the migration patterns of six target substances from laminated and non-laminated paper-based food-contact tableware at varying migration temperatures and migration times in four food simulants (4% acetic acid, 10% ethanol, 50% ethanol and isooctane), and the barrier property of the laminated coating was validated.