Alternative fatty food simulants for polymer migration testing. Experimental confirmation

A scheme is outlined for rapid and effective evaluation of food contact materials for compliance with food safety regulations. The scheme is discussed in terms of migration into fatty food stuffs in long-time room temperature storage. Evaluation starts with compositional analysis of the polymer using a rapid extraction test (24 h at 40ø C) to extract all potential migratable substances from the polymer. Extraction test results using isooctane for polyolefins and ethanol for polar polymers compared to global migration limits show the migration behaviour of materials can be classified based on their thicknesses. Thin materials with thickness </= 300 mym seldom exceed migration limits whereas thick (> 300 mym) often do, thus migration testing is most applicable for thick materials. The extraction test correlates with migration conditions up to and including sterilization hot fill (130ø C for 0.5 h). Comparison of global migration test data into ethanol and olive oil for 32 commercial mate rials shows ethanol can be used as an alternative simulant to oil. The extraction test results represent an upper limit for global migration into oil from thin materials.