Determination of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) extractable from the surface of commercial cookware under simulated cooking conditions by LC/MS/MS

Abstract

Salts of pentadecafluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are polymerization aids used in the manufacture of fluoropolymers; one of the applications of fluoropolymers is the coating of metal cookware products. A method was developed to determine if PFOA might be present in and extracted from the surface of commercial frying pans coated with a DuPont fluoropolymer under simulated cooking conditions. Commercial grade cookware was obtained, then extracted with water and ethanol/water mixtures at 100 and 125 °C, and the resulting extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Detection and quantification limits as low as 100 pg cm⁻² were demonstrated. None of the fluoropolymer treated cookware samples analyzed showed detectable levels of PFOA when extracted under simulated cooking conditions.