Recycled packaging: what to look out for

The fact that various substances (including harmful compounds) migrate from packaging into food is now well known. However, at a recent food safety conference, a Nébih expert also pointed out that manufacturers are also challenged by the constant change in raw materials (e.g. the use of recycled packaging). In an article on Laboratorium.hu, we have collected the most important information on packaging materials.

According to certain estimations, up to 300 to 400 g of compounds migrating from packaging materials (monomers, oligomers, stabilizers, antioxidants, plasticizers, foaming agents, heavy metals, dyes, manufacturing aids) is consumed by each human in their lifetime.

A significant proportion of enter foods via migration, and the compounds can damage organs that regulate human metabolism and the endocrine system (and they may cause kidney and liver failure and could be carcinogenic after prolonged exposure).

„The assurance of proper food safety is further complicated and hampered by the presence of recycled plastics and other materials, such as mandatory secondary raw materials” - emphasized Dr. Blanka Szilvássy, expert of the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) in her presentation entitled "The complex world of FCMs (Food Contact Materials) - from legislation to new challenges" at the Hungalimentaria Conference.

The European Commission has recognized the problem that the regulation of packaging materials is incomplete and does not promote the use of innovative raw materials, even though the raw materials for FCMs are constantly changing these days. Under the European Green Deal, all packaging must be recyclable (65% of packaging materials must be recycled by 2025 - in terms of materials, energy and compostability) and, accordingly, the use of recycled raw materials will be mandatory up to a certain percentage in the future.

Among recycled raw materials, only recycled plastic materials are currently covered by food safety requirements (2022/1616/EU), including collection, sorting, purification and transformation of raw materials, with the regulation also covering quality control, documentation and labeling.

Another interesting fact is that the EU strategy on chemicals for sustainability takes into account all PFAS compounds, which are expected to be banned, unless their use is essential for society.

What are PFAS compounds? Read the article on Laboratorium.hu.

How can we be sure? How are packaging materials tested?

Laboratory tests are carried out using so-called food simulants, which have properties that are similar to those of the food that comes into contact with the packaging materials and test the packaging material in a similar way – learned Laboratorium.hu from experts of the Food Safety Business Unit of Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft., a leading food testing laboratory.

In the laboratory, the amount of each component that enters the solution is measured. The tests are always based on the most unfavorable conditions of use, and chemical analytical measurements (including those based on mass measurement, metal analysis, chromatographic separation and mass spectrometry) are used to test migration. Most often, plasticizers, antioxidants and heavy metals are tested, but in many cases, laboratory experts also need to identify compounds of unknown structure. Specific migration studies also include the chemical characterization of substances that migrate from food into food simulants, i.e. the detection of specific compounds and the determination of their amounts.

Packaging materials are not the enemy!

It is important to emphasize that the modern food industry is unthinkable without packaging: it keeps food in one piece, protects it from the environment (and vice versa), makes it more durable, minimizes the risk of infection and contamination, and inhibits the growth of microorganisms in the product. In addition, packaging materials must be able to withstand cold and heat, ensure appropriate permeability for the foodstuffs they contain, as well as resistance to preservation processes and handling, and they have to contain the mandatory labeling information required by law (net weight, minimum durability, storage conditions, nutritional content, etc.), not to mention the marketing messages they carry. Another increasingly important requirement from an environmental protection point of view is that non-recyclable packaging materials must be biodegradable.

They do not pose a risk to humans and, if the rules on production and distribution are respected, and if they are regularly tested by the authorities and laboratories, they even improve the quality of our lives. However, their proper disposal and recycling must be ensured.

Using analytical methods developed and carried out in the laboratories, it is possible to effectively eliminate substances that are unsuitable for food packaging, and in some cases even toxic. This can also improve the safety of packaged food.

More interesting articles on this topic:
What will the packaging material of the future look like?
Let’s eat less packaging
There is no insoluble packaging