Migration of Substances from Packaging into Food
What is migration and how does it occur?
Migration of substances from packaging into food represents the process of transfer of chemical compounds from packaging material into a food product during storage, transport, or food preparation. Packaging can be made of different materials such as plastics, paper and cardboard, glass, metals, and multilayer materials. Migration occurs when chemical substances present in the packaging transfer into the food due to a difference in concentration between the material and the food. Factors influencing migration include temperature, contact time, type of food (aqueous, acidic, alkaline, fatty), as well as the thickness and type of packaging.
Why is migration control crucial for food safety?
Migration control is one of the fundamental elements of ensuring food safety, as in this case packaging must protect the food and ensure compliance with applicable regulations while maintaining the product’s shelf life. In the case of inadequate control, unwanted substances may transfer into the food, which can compromise product safety, change its organoleptic properties such as taste, smell, and appearance, and lead to non-compliance with applicable regulations.
For food and packaging manufacturers, this represents a significant risk, from complaints and product recalls to damage to reputation and loss of customer trust.
What are the main risks of migration from packaging?
The level and type of migration depend on several factors such as temperature, contact time, type of food (aqueous, acidic, alkaline, fatty), as well as the thickness and type of packaging. Particularly risky situations include contact of packaging with hot, fatty, or acidic food, as well as long-term storage of products.
One of the additional challenges is represented by so-called NIAS compounds (non-intentionally added substances), i.e. substances that are not intentionally added to the material but may appear as by-products of production or degradation. Such substances can often be identified exclusively through laboratory analyses.
Legal requirements and compliance with EU regulation
The safety of materials that come into contact with food in the European Union is strictly regulated. The fundamental principle is that packaging must not transfer substances in quantities that could endanger consumer health, nor should it change the composition or properties of the food.
In order to demonstrate this, manufacturers are required to carry out laboratory testing, which includes the determination of overall migration (total quantity of migrated substances) and specific migration for individual compounds with defined limits.
Without such testing, it is not possible to demonstrate product compliance with European legislation.
Laboratory analysis of packaging
At the Sample Control laboratory, we provide comprehensive services for testing materials and articles that come into contact with food, with the aim of ensuring full compliance with regulations and product safety.
Our services include:
• testing of overall and specific migration
• identification and assessment of NIAS compounds (screening analysis)
• analysis of mineral oils (MOSH/MOAH) in packaging and food using the most modern techniques
• determination of primary aromatic amines (PAA)
• analysis of metals in packaging materials (ICP-MS)
• testing of PFAS compounds
• testing of bisphenol A (HPLC)
• determination of formaldehyde (HPLC-UV)
• determination of PCBs (GC-MS/MS)
We use advanced analytical techniques such as UPLC-MS/MS, GC-MS/MS, LC-GC-FID, ICP-MS, LC Orbitrap HRAM, HPLC-UV, thereby ensuring high sensitivity, reliability, and interpretation of results in accordance with the latest market requirements.
To our clients, we do not offer only analysis, but also expert support in decision-making, product optimization, and preparation for the market.
Sample Control expands its services with state-of-the-art technology for the analysis of mineral oils in food
Sample Control proudly announces the acquisition and commissioning of a GC×GC-TOF-MS/FID system, enabling precise analysis of mineral oils (MOSH and MOAH) in food products. This state-of-the-art technology represents a major step forward in food quality and safety control, offering clients fast, reliable, and highly detailed results.
Presence and contamination of meat with perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) compounds
Perfluoroethyl compounds (PFAS) is a collective term for a very large group of fluorinated compounds, including oligomers and polymers, consisting of neutral and anion surface active compounds with high heat, chemical and biological inertness. Perfluorinated compounds are generally hydrophobic but also lipophobic and therefore will not accumulate in fat tissues as is usually the case with other persistent halogenated compounds. An important subgroup are (per) fluorinated organic surfactants, including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctane acid (PFOA). For PFOS and PFOA, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) established a tolerable daily intake (TDI) for humans of 150 ng/kg body weight and 1.5 μg/kg body weight per day (EFSA 2008).