MIGRATION FROM PACKAGING

ARE FUNCTIONAL BARRIERS THE ANSWER?

Greener Packaging Seminar

17 november 2016
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MINDER SMOSSEN MET ETEN

D O O R B E T E R T E V E R PAK K E N
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FILLING
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AC TI VI TI ES
OPTIBARRIER
C O LLEC TI V E R ESEAR C H PR O J EC T

► 2015 – 2019 Innovation in quality and safety of packaged food products

► 6 research groups
► 45 companies Gas Light Migration

Effect of divers barrier materials on Effect wavelength (UV – Effect

O2-ingress in the package – visible light) and light functional barrier on
Consequences towards quality ánd intensity on quality specific migration
safety food products packaged food products

Overpackaging vs. underpackaging

MIGRATION OF MINERAL OILS
W H AT’ S TH E B I G D EAL?
MIGRATION OF MINERAL OILS
W H AT’ S TH E B I G D EAL?

► FoodWatch market study 120 products – 2015 (NL, D, F)

► The Netherlands
► Most of the food products (92%) were contaminated with MOSH, with 25% more
than 5 mg/kg.
► Close to half of the food products (47%) were contaminated with MOAH,
even when no MOAH in primary packaging.
 MINERAL OILS
W H AT AR E W E TALK I N G AB O U T?

► Complex mixture of hydrocarbons

► Named by number of carbon atoms
► “Carbon number”
► Increasing carbon number
► Complexity 
► Molecular size, boiling point and viscosity 
# of compounds

C1 C5 C10 C15 C20 C25 C30 C35 C40 C45 C50 … “mineral oils”
MINERAL OILS
W H AT AR E W E TALK I N G AB O U T?

► Migration potential
Paperboard Food (semolina)
► C16 – C24

migration

carbon number carbon number

FOGRA Forschungsgesellschaft Druck e.V., round robin study 2012

MINERAL OILS
W H AT AR E W E TALK I N G AB O U T?

MOSH M O AH
MINERAL OILS
W H AT AR E W E TALK I N G AB O U T?

MOSH M O AH
► Saturated bonds ► At least one benzene ring
► Short chains easily absorbed ► Unsaturated bonds
► Accumulation ► Metabolized
► Inflammatory response in Fischer 344 ► Suspected to include carcinogenic and
rats: tumour promotors genotoxic compounds
► Usually 20% of mineral oil
 ACCUMULATION IN TISSUE
B Y FAR TH E LAR G EST C O N TAM I N AN T O F TH E H U M AN B O D Y

► 37 individuals, a quarter contained more than 5g mineral oil hydrocarbons

(MOSH) in their body
► Mostly in fat tissue
► Virtually no MOAH: metabolized and eliminated
► Increases with age

Mineral oil in human tissues, L. Barp, C. Kornauth, T. Würger, M. Rudas, M. Biedermann, A. Reiner, N. Concin, K. Grob,
Food and Chemical Toxicology 72 (2014), 312-321
MINERAL OILS
W H ER E D O TH EY C O M E FR O M ?
MINERAL OILS
W H Y FO C U S O N PAC K AG I N G ?

EFSA OPINION - 2012

MINERAL OILS
W H Y FO C U S O N PAC K AG I N G ?

EFSA OPINION - 2012

MINERAL OILS
R EC YC LED C AR D B O AR D

► 300 – 1000 mg/kg recycled cardboard

► from newspaper printing inks
► 15 – 20% MOAH (up to 35%)

► trouble for dry food with large surface area: rice, pasta, powder
MIGRATION PATHWAYS
Environment

Secundary packaging

Primary packaging

Food
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Environment
VI R G I N FI B R E

Secundary packaging

Primary packaging

Food
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Environment
ALL VI R G I N FI B R E + C O M PLETE C O N TR O L O F TO TAL C H AI N

Secundary packaging

Primary packaging

Food
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Environment
FU N C TI O N AL B AR R I ER

Secundary packaging

Primary packaging

Food
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Environment
FU N C TI O N AL B AR R I ER

► as a liner/coating Secundary packaging

► inner bag

Primary packaging

Food
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Environment
SC AVEN G ER

Secundary packaging

Primary packaging

Food
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Environment
SC AVEN G ER

► saturation Secundary packaging

Primary packaging

Food
LEGISLATION
1 9 3 5 /20 04

Materials and articles […] shall be manufactured […] so that, under normal or
foreseeable conditions of use, they do not transfer their constituents to food in
quantities which could
(a) endanger human health or
(b) bring about an unacceptable change in the composition of the food or
(c) bring about a deterioration in the organoleptic characteristics thereof.
LEGISLATION
LEGISLATION-TO-BE?
G ER M AN D R AF T

► Limits on what the packaging may contain

► MOSH < 24 mg/kg paper or cardboard C16-C35
► MOAH < 6 mg/kg paper or cardboard C16-C35
(C16-C25 for dry foods stored at room temperature)
► Can be ignored if there is in the food (from migration and other sources)
► MOSH < 2 mg/kg food C20-C35
► MOAH < 0.5 mg/kg food C16-C35
NATIONAL LEGISLATION
TH E SW I SS O R D I N AN C E O N PR I N TI N G I N K S - 2 0 1 3

► A-list: evaluated substances with restrictions

► B-list: non-evaluated substances: 0.01 mg/kg food

► MOSH
► white mineral oils on A-list
► many other derivatives mentioned on B-list
► MOAH
► B-list
RETAIL
LEG I SLATI O N ?

► Companies are confronted with demands from retail

► Often stricter than ‘legislation’
► Limits of mineral oils in food (sources of contamination)
► “Below detection limit”

Detection limits for food

1 mg/kg (2009, Biedermann, Fiselier & Grob)
0.2 mg/kg food (2012, Biedermann et al.)
0.1 mg/kg (2013, Biedermann et al.)
0.3 mg/kg oil (2014, Zurfluh, Biedermann & Grob)
0.1 mg/kg dry food (2014, Zurfluh, Biedermann & Grob)
0.1 mg/kg rice (2016, Lommatsch et al.)
MINERAL OILS FROM FOOD AND BOARD
BfR 2012
SEPERATION OF MOSH AND MOAH
AN ALY TI C S - PR I N C I PLE

BfR
MINERAL OILS
C O M PLEX M I XTU R E

► Impossible to seperate
► Interference from POSH and PAO
► Interference from food components

C16 C20 C24 C28

Olive oil

OptiBarrier - Preliminary results, PhD-thesis Maarten Baele, UGent

ANALYSIS
M I N ER AL O I LS
ROBUSTNESS OF ANALYSIS?
FO G R A 2 0 1 2

FOGRA Forschungsgesellschaft Druck e.V., round robin study 2012

MIGRATION
N O T O N LY M I N ER AL O I LS

► Many more possible migrating components

► Additives, plasticizers, photoinitiatiors, …
► Also polar substances (as opposed to apolar MO)
► Source specific components: e.g. DIPN from carbonless
copy paper, contaminant of recycled board

► More than 250 different unidentified or unevaluated

substances than may migrate >0.01 mg/kg food
Biedermann & Grob, 2013
SOLUTIONS
PO SSI B LE STR ATEG I ES

► Internal bags with a functional barrier layer

► current technology, readily available polymers

► Coating of the internal surface of paperboard with a functional barrier

► complex: closure of the box, damage during creasing/cuts, set-off

► Adding an adsorbent to the paperboard to prevent release

► charcoal
SOLUTIONS
PO SSI B LE STR ATEG I ES

► Internal bags with a functional barrier layer

Propafilm RCU Barrièrefolie
EVOH Barrièrefolie
► Coating of the internal surface of paperboard with a functional barrier
Foodboard Walki.MOST Miprotex
Micro-Pack Algro Guard M Skalax
Unifood Ultramid

► Adding an adsorbent to the paperboard to prevent release

Catcher board MB 12
OPTIBARRIER
C O LLEC TI V E R ESEAR C H PR O J EC T

► 2015 – 2019 Innovation in quality and safety of packaged food products

► 6 research groups
► 45 companies Gas Light Migration

Effect of divers barrier materials on O2- Effect wavelength Effect

ingress in the package – (UV – visible light) functional barrier on
Consequences towards quality ánd and light intensity on quality specific migration
safety food products packaged food products

Overpackaging vs. underpackaging

OPTIBARRIER
EVALU ATI O N O F FU N C TI O N AL B AR R I ER S

► Commercial functional barriers: how effective are they?

► Innovative strategies: FLAMINCO – new materials!
► Not only for MOSH/MOAH, also many more contaminants

► Not useful to evaluate every contaminant: 4 candidates selected in wide spectrum

of volatility, polarity, … to model complex mixture
► Spiked on donor paperboard, stored at elevated temperatures
► Receptor periodically analysed
OPTIBARRIER
EVALU ATI O N O F FU N C TI O N AL B AR R I ER S

Barrier A
Extent of migration

Barrier B

Barrier C

1%
Storage time

Barrier efficiency
PACK4FOOD
I N N O VATI O N I N PAC K AG I N G

► Participation OptiBarrier: www.Pack4Food.be/project/OptiBarrier

► Open training 9 February 2017: Mineral oils and food packaging

www.Pack4Food.be/opleiding

► Coupure Links 653

B-9000 Gent

► 09/264.99.30
info@Pack4Food.be