fluorescent whitening agents (fwas) are fluorescent dyes and are complex organic compounds. fluorescent whitening agents can be divided into 6 categories according to the parent chemical structure: the first type is triazine amino stilbene type fluorescent whitening agents (dsd-fbs). because of its low price and excellent performance, it accounts for more than 60% of paper-making applications. market share of fluorescent whitening agents; category 2 is pyrazoline type fluorescent whitening agents, which have green fluorescence. it is generally formed by the condensation of monochlorophenylpropionyl or mannich base and aromatic hydrazine; the third category is naphthalimide type fluorescent whitening agent, which has blue fluorescence; the fourth category is stilbene biphenyl type fluorescent whitening agents, this type has red fluorescence; category 5 is benzoxazole-type fluorescent whitening agents, which have the highest melting point and best heat resistance among all fluorescent whitening agent varieties at present. it has significant whitening and brightening effects and has high commercial value; category 6 is a coumarin-type fluorescent whitening agent, which has the basic structure of coumarone and strong blue fluorescence [1].
fluorescent whitening agents are now widely used in food, papermaking, packaging materials, plastics, textiles, etc., and their safety has attracted increasing attention. there are many studies and reports on the toxicity and safety of optical brighteners. miao wenbin et al. [2] found that optical brightener 28 can cause damage to the genetic material of cells in vitro. research by jiang wei et al. [3] did not show that fluorescent whitening agent 28 caused chromosome damage in mammalian cells in vitro. pan shenglin et al.[4] discovered that western countries have conducted studies on the toxicity of fluorescent whitening agents since the 1970s and found that mice and other organisms have photosensitivity and phototoxic reactions when exposed to a variety of fluorescent whitening agents, which are difficult to excrete from the body through normal metabolic pathways. it easily weakens the organism’s wound healing ability and immunity and enhances the formation of carcinogenic tumors. dong zhongsheng [5] reported that no potential toxicological hazards have been found in terms of carcinogenicity and sensitization of the fluorescent whitening agent cbx and the fluorescent whitening agent cxt. zhong weijian et al. reported a study on the photosensitivity, phototoxicity and mutagenicity of fluorescent whitening agents, which showed negative test results. ai jing et al. [7] reported that long-term use of cosmetics containing fluorescent whitening agents may endanger skin health by clogging pores, destroying skin barrier function, causing facial dermatitis, and increasing photosensitivity in photosensitive patients. in addition, from the perspective of the establishment of national standards, my country has banned the addition of fwas in the production of base paper for food packaging since 1989. in 2008, it further specifically regulated the addition of fluorescent whitening agents in food packaging paper. although the safety of optical brighteners is still controversial, from a health and safety perspective, you should try to choose related products that do not contain optical brighteners.
at present, there are no comprehensive relevant limit standards and detection methods for fluorescent whitening agents in my country. in order to eliminate the threat to consumer health caused by chemical residues of optical brighteners, european and american countries have successively promulgated a series of relevant laws and regulations on the safety of optical brighteners. however, the laws and regulations of various countries are very different, which will bring great problems to production and trade. according to relevant sampling results in recent years, it has been found that the addition of fluorescent whitening agents is serious. the national food safety department should attach great importance to it, expand the monitoring scope of fluorescent whitening agent varieties, and speed up the formulation of standard detection methods and limit standards for fluorescent whitening agents. , to obtain more monitoring data and ensure the production safety of related industries and the safety of people’s lives.
references
[1] yu kun, han yi, zhang chengming, et al. research progress on analytical methods of fluorescent whitening agents [j]. chemical reagents, 2013, 35 (5): 417-421.
[2] miao wenbin, jiang wei, chen xiang. study on micronucleus formation and gene mutation in chinese hamster ovary cells induced by fluorescent whitening agents [j]. journal of food safety and quality inspection, 2016, 7 (1): 188- 192.
[3] jiang wei, chen xiang, miao wenbin, et al. study on chromosomal aberrations in chinese hamster lung cells caused by fluorescent whitening agents [j]. occupational health and emergency rescue, 2013, 31 (2): 71-73.
[4] pan shenglin, ding youchao, zhai suwan, et al. toxicological analysis and supervision of fluorescent whitening agents in paper sanitary products [j]. china paper industry, 2013, 34 (15): 77-79.
[5] dong zhongsheng. the safety of use of the fluorescent whitening agent cxt for detergents based on its toxicological data [j]. china detergent industry, 2012, 28 (4): 22-34.