Packaging Food Contact Certification and Analysis

In the US, approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is required for a new material that has direct or indirect contact with food. This includes, for example, new packaging materials, cooking or baking materials, coatings for beverage cans and liquid containers, and inks and adhesives that come into contact with plastic packaging. Essentially, materials that come into contact with food are not expected to alter the quality, structure or substance of the foodstuffs they protect. In this respect, food contact testing of packaging materials is critical to protect consumer health. These test methods include a variety of tests and migration screening to measure all impurities in food, including general migration testing, specific migration testing, and unintentionally added substances testing.

The types of food contact materials tested are generally:

• Polymers, plastics and rubbers
• Silicones, adhesives and sealants
• Non-stick coatings
• ceramic and glass
• Paper and cardboard
• Metals, alloys and metallic articles
• Pigments and dyes
• Printing inks and varnishes
• Surface coatings
• Wood products

These commonly used packaging materials have two purposes: to prevent food contamination and to maintain food safety and quality.

In particular, the migration of chemicals from materials that come into contact with food has negative effects on both food quality and food safety. Therefore, materials that come into direct contact with food, such as boxes, bottles, plastics, caps, and the like, must have food contact certification. Materials that come into indirect contact with food, such as cards, varnishes, inks, and the like, must comply with current legal regulations.

The main regulations governing direct and indirect contact materials include the FDA 21CFR standard, EU directive 2002/72/EC, Australian standard AS2070-1999, and the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC). Substances migrating from food contact materials should not be in amounts that could endanger human health. Comprehensive toxicological assessment of both food components and packaging materials is necessary to determine the safety of food products.

Our organization also provides analysis services for packaging food contact certification, with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors.