Research in food packaging

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http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/success/en/agr/0327e.html

 

The monomers that make up polymers used in food packaging can pose

health risks if they migrate from the packaging to the food. Standard

test methods are essential if test results are to be comparable and

reliable. Some existed previously but only for a few monomers. A

European project team studied and tested methods for 33 different

monomers and their results have been approved by the European Committee

for Standardisation.

The food industry has been wrapping our

food in plastic for many decades now. Plastic food packaging is made of

polymers. These polymers are long chain-like molecules that are built

up from individual links called monomers. After plastic manufacture,

some of these monomers do not get added to the polymer chain but remain

in the plastic. When food comes into direct contact with the packaging,

monomers may migrate into the food and endanger public health.

 

The Scientific Committee for Food evaluated many plastic

monomers and additives for their toxicity and has established accepted

or tolerable daily intakes for these substances. From these values, the

European Commission deduced maximum limits for quantity of monomer in

the plastic and for monomer migration from plastics into foods. The

European "Plastics Directive", and its amendments, lists these limits

for about 80 monomers. Since then, more recent Directives state that

analytical test procedures for compliance food testing with food laws

must be carried out using validated methods.

 

No common methods

for the common market

Many research

organisations and the food and chemical industries, private, government

and enforcement laboratories began measuring monomer migration. In

practice, however, they each applied analytical methods that they had

developed in-house and most of these had never been validated. Some

laboratories used new high-tech methods while others used more

classical techniques. The results from these wildly different tests

varied enormously and comparable, accurate, precise results that could

be used in court simply did not exist in the majority of cases.

As well as the risks to public health, comparable test results

support the reduction of barriers related to food trade and packaging

within the Single European Market. The overall consumption of plastics

in Europe is about 28 million tonnes a year. There is certainly an

economic dimension to the problem. Industrial end-users, such as the

food industry, as well as consumers, demand high-quality plastics. In

addition, some Member States have a very low social and political

acceptance of certain plastics.

The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) is the body

responsible for standard methods. A technical subcommittee responsible

for materials that come into contact with food has a working group of

more than 25 European expert analysts considering standard methods to

measure migration. They had established and discussed analytical

methods for only a handful of monomers - about 15. If the Directives

were to be properly enforced and consumers safe-guarded from potential

health threats, something would have to be done.

 

Developing standard tests