Professor Jan Christensen and fellow researcher Selina Tisler detected more than 400 different substances from the bottle plastic and over 3,500 substances derived from dishwasher soap in a recent experiment. Speaking to Packaging Insights, they say the findings were very surprising and that their methods could provide product manufacturers tools for regulation in future. 

Using a liquid chromatograph and a mass spectrometer, the researchers carried out a non-target screening on biodegradable and PET bottles. As with traditional methods, the screening is not limited to analyzing the substances suspected to be present but instead screening for all substances present.