Heavy metal migration from cardboard and Pyrex packages into pizza

The material used for pizza delivery, usually made of corrugated cardboard, keeps the pizza warm, but may also serve as a source of metal contamination. This study evaluated the potential migration of Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Ni, Co, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Cd, Sn, Ba, Pb, Sb, and Hg from corrugated cardboard packaging into pizza, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after a 30-min delivery simulation time. Several metals were observed in packaged samples, with the highest levels for Al (8.430 mg/kg), Fe (13.10 mg/kg), and Zn (13.93 mg/kg). Non-carcinogenic risk assessment indicated values within acceptable safety thresholds, with the target hazard quotients (THQs) ranging from 0.01 to 0.52. These findings highlight measurable metals migration from packaging into pizza, though without immediate health risk under typical consumption scenarios.