Printed paper and board food contact materials as a potential source of food contamination

Prioritizing substances of genotoxic concern for in-depth safety evaluation using non-animal approaches. The example of food contact materials_suppl

“…However, they may (partly) remain if not fully utilized. Previous results (Van Bossuyt et al, 2016) indicate that 5 of the 19 substances of very high concern not only demonstrate physicochemical properties related to high migration and bioavailability potential, but are also included in both the "Flavourings, Additives, and food Contact materials Exposure Tool" (FACET) list and ECHA's Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) list. Inclusion in the FACET and SVHC lists implies that these substances are used in primary food packaging materials and have already been recognized to be of very high concern within the REACH framework, respectively.…”

“…Four substances are of concern based on their carcinogenic potential and 1 substance due to mutagenic properties. Importantly, 1 of the carcinogenic substances, i.e., 4,4'-methylenedianiline (bis(4-aminophenyl) methane) is also included in the Authorisation List (Annex XIV) of REACH (Van Bossuyt et al, 2016). The placing on the EU market of this substance is prohibited since 21 August 2014 (ECHA, 2017c).…”

“…We recently reported that more than 6000 substances can be used in the manufacture of printed paper and board FCM, of which 77% have not been officially evaluated for their safe use in FCM. Furthermore, based on their physicochemical characteristics, the majority of these non-evaluated substances is expected to migrate from the FCM and become bioavailable after intake of the contaminated food (Van Bossuyt et al, 2016). Since elaborate safety testing on these thousands of printed paper and board FCM substances is not feasible in the short term, they constitute an interesting group for the development of a prioritization strategy for subsequent in-depth safety evaluation.…”

Safeguarding human health using in silico tools?

“…Paper and board FCM, like other non-plastic FCMs, can contain a large number of non-evaluated substances (European Parliament 2016;Liu et al 2016;Muncke et al 2014;Van Bossuyt et al 2016). Several food crises have confirmed that FCM substances can migrate into food and drinks, subsequently causing unwanted exposure of the consumer to potentially harmful substances (European Commission 2016; EFSA 2011).…”

Kontaminanten aus Lebensmittelverpackungen

“…Van Bossuyt et al [17] schätzen, dass mehr als 6000 Einzelverbindungen in bedruckten Papieren und Kartonagen vorkommen, wobei die Mehrheit (77 %) nicht toxikologisch bewertet ist und viele davon oral aufgenommen werden können. Als weiteres Kontaminantenproblem ist die Exposition des Verbrauchers gegenüber Gemischen von (teilweise bewerteten) Einzelsubstanzen wie Phthalaten [18] oder Perfluorverbindungen [19] sowie komplexen Gemischen aus nicht völlig identifizierten Komponenten wie Mineralöl-Kohlenwasserstoffen [20] oder dem "forest of peaks" aus Beschichtungen [21] zu nennen.…”