Roland Franz

• Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a known substance that is found in food contact materials as an intentionally added as well as a non-intentionally added substance. Traces of BPA were found as a non-intentionally added substance in recycled PET (rPET). In 2023, the EFSA proposed a new TDI of 0.0002 µg/kg bw/d, which is lower than the previous (temporary) TDI o...

Paper and board are widely used as food contact materials. For such sensitive applications, consumer safety regarding the transfer of chemical components and contaminants to the food needs to be established. Such safety assessments are becoming increasingly challenging not only due to intentionally added substances but also non-intentionally added...

The European strategy for plastics, as part of the EU’s circular economy action plan, should support the reduction in plastic waste. One key element in this action plan is the improvement of the economics and quality of recycled plastics. In addition, an important goal is that by 2030, all plastics packaging placed on the EU market must either be r...

PET beverage bottles have been recycled and safely reprocessed into new food contact packaging applications for over two decades. During recollection of post-consumer PET beverage bottles, PET containers from non-food products are inevitably co-collected and thereby enter the PET recycling feed stream. To explore the impact of this mixing on the sa...

The use of nanoadditives in food contact materials requires risk assessment to ensure consumers’ safety. The evaluation of health risk is based on the combination of two elements: hazard and exposure. For nanomaterials (NM) used as additives in nanocomposites, the exposure is directly linked to the level of migration or release of the NM into the f...

Dialkyl diketene dimers are used as sizing agents in the manufacture of paper and board for food contact applications to increase wetting stability. Unbound residues can hydrolyze and decarboxylate into dialkylketones. These non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) have potential to migrate to fatty foods in contact with those packaging materials....

This guideline was developed within the scope of the IGF project “Measurement and prediction of the migration of mineral oil components (MOH) from packaging into food as a contribution to minimizing contamination” (AiF 19016 N) under the sponsorship of The Research Association of the Food Industry (FEI), which was funded by the Federal Ministry of...

Plastic and rubber based composites containing carbon black (CB) were investigated for the potential to release CB nano-particulates under stress conditions into food simulants. Nanocomposites were exposed to thermal, chemical, and mechanical stress, followed by mechanical abrasion of their surface. Particle sensitive asymmetric flow field-flow fra...

Three plastic nanocomposites containing the nanomaterials silver, titanium nitride, and laponite were investigated on the potential to release nanoparticulates under stress conditions into food simulants. Nanocomposites were exposed to thermal, chemical, and mechanical stress followed by mechanical abrasion of their surface. Particle sensitive asym...

Microplastics have been ubiquitously found and identified in aquatic and terrestrial environments for several years. Due to their occurrence in the oceans, microplastics were also found and characterised in seafood products and in other foods and beverages such as beer, honey and table salt. Very recently, microplastic particles were also determine...

Polyethylene furanoate polymer is intended to be used as a food contact material. A PEF polymer sample was investigated for its oligomer composition by solvent extraction and using HRLC-MS. The 20 oligomers found were divided into four groups: group I contains cyclic oligomers consisting of furandicarboxylic acid and monoethylene glycol units, grou...

In this study, the migration potential of laponite, a small synthetic nanoclay, from nanocomposites into foods was investigated. First, a laponite/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) masterbatch was compounded several times and then extruded into thin low-density polyethylene (LDPE) based films. This way, intercalation and partial exfoliation of the small...

Polyethylene naphthalate and polybutylene terephthalate were investigated regarding their oligomer content. Based on their accurate mass and fragmentation spectra ten oligomers have been identified in extracts of PBT material and seven oligomers in extracts of PEN material. These oligomers were found to be cyclic and linear for both polymers. They...

DLG TestService GmbH in cooperation with Fraunhofer IVV and Gummiwerk KRAIBURG Elastik GmbH & Co. KG performed investigations on the release of PAH (in particular the groups of REACH-PAH and SCF-PAH) from rubber mats to farm animals. Cows and their milk were investigated before and after the change of these rubber mats in a cowshed. There was no si...

Based on current literature and standards two methods of migration experiments were developed and evaluated: • Migration onto Tenax® • Migration in 20% Ethanol The comparison of the migration behavior between safety tiles of different thicknesses (3 mm and 10 mm) shows that not the total amount of PAHs is the main influencing factor for migration b...

Content - Introduction page 252 - Definitions page 253 - Standard migration tests page 257 - Elements of a migration test - General migration testing scheme - List of food simulants - Specific assignment of food simulants to foods - Test conditions for migration testing - Overall migration testing - Specific migration testing - Testing for the resi...

Polyethylene terephthalate is increasingly used as food contact material for example in containers for beverage such as bottles for soft drinks, mineral water, juices and beer. Mass transport of substances present in packaging materials into the packed food and beverages is monitored to verify the food law compliance of the materials. PET is known...

The objective of the book chapter is to provide the state of the art in migration modelling, understood as diffusion controlled mechanism following Fick's law of diffusion, for NPs in food contact plastics. In the first part of this chapter migration modelling of conventional plastics additives will be described as a basis for modelling approaches...

Background The development of applications using nanomaterials is accompanied by safety concerns due to gaps in understanding the toxicology. In case of incorporation in food contact polymers, the first step to consumer exposure is the transfer of nanomaterials from the polymer to the food. Thus, in order to evaluate the risk the key questions are...

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used as packaging material for natural mineral water bottles. However, trace levels of acetaldehyde, a PET related substance, can migrate into the water during the shelf life time and might influence the taste of the PET bottled water. 2-Aminobenzamide is typically used during PET bottle production as a sc...

PET bottles are typically used for mineral water, soft drinks, juices and beer. PET materials in contact with food must comply with the general safety requirements of European Framework Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 and, more specifically, with the requirements given in the European Plastics Regulation (EU) 10/2011. This regulation lays down detailed r...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of parameters such as temperature and type of low density polyethylene (LDPE) film on the log K p/f values of seven model migrants in food simulants. Two different types of LDPE films contaminated by extrusion and immersion were placed in contact with three food simulants including 20% ethanol, 50...

The mass transport process (migration) of a model substance, benzophenone (BZP), from LDPE into selected foodstuffs at three temperatures was studied. A mathematical model based on Fick's Second Law of Diffusion was used to simulate the migration process and a good correlation between experimental and predicted values was found. The acquired result...

Background: Over the last years the variety of food and beverage packaging has increased with the development of new plastic materials and (co)polymer modifications. Oligomers which are always present in polymers evoke attention as potential migrants, from a qualitatively and quantitatively viewpoint. Scope and approach: This article deals with oli...

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are widely used as packaging material for natural mineral water. However, trace levels of acetaldehyde can migrate into natural mineral water during the shelf life and might influence the taste of the PET bottled water. 2-Aminobenzamide is widely used during PET bottle production as a scavenging agent for ac...

The development of modern recycling processes allows cleansing and reconditioning of used beverage bottles (Post-Consumer Recycled-Polyethylene Terephthalate: PCR-PET) to be reused as packaging material in direct contact with foodstuffs. This publication gives practical guidelines and reliable criteria for the safe recycling of PCR PET using modern...

Carbon black was investigated to assess and quantify the possibility that nanoparticles might migrate out of plastic materials used in the food packaging industry. Two types of carbon black were incorporated in low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polystyrene (PS) at 2.5% and 5.0% loading (w/w), and then subjected to migration studies. The samples w...

The water content of the Primary Product is estimated as 11 wt. %. The volatile fraction accounts for 40 wt. % of the Primary Product; 78 % of the volatile fraction have been identified. The total identified mass represents 52 wt. % of the Primary Product, corresponding to 59 % of the solvent- free mass. Considering the measurement uncertainties of...

The potential of nano silver particles (Ag-NPs) to migrate from food contact polyolefins into food was systematically investigated. Migration studies were carried out using low density polyethylene (LDPE) films with different concentrations of incorporated Ag-NPs in contact with different EU-official food simulants simulating long-term storage with...

Aroma and oxygen-barrier properties of chitosan-coated papers were measured in order to evaluate the potential of these materials as biodegradable materials for food packaging. Firstly, two chitosans (Chi-244 and Chi-652) were studied according to their ultimate biodegradability. Chi-652 showed the best final biodegradation rate and was then used f...

Abstract Today most foods are available in a packed form. During storage, migration of chemical substances from food packaging materials into food may occur and may therefore be a potential source of consumer exposure. To protect the consumer standard migration tests are laid down in Regulation (EU) No.10/2011. When using those migration tests and...

Acrylic acid-based and methacrylic acid-based monomers are widely used for the manufacture of polymers, for polymer dispersions or for other specialty resins. Some of these applications cause interactions between the polymer and contact medium such as food contact materials, eyeglasses, contact lenses or toys. More specifically, migration of monome...

Mineral oil migration from cardboard packaging into foodstuffs is recognized as a serious problem for the consumers. Within this study, a fast automated method for the determination of mineral oil permeation through barrier films was developed. The method is using 15 defined standard substances representing mineral oil chemistry instead of complex...

Several migration tests of per- and polyfluorinated compounds from food contact paper were done with real food and food simulants. The data were assessed and compared.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are widely used for beverages. Oxygen-sensitive beverages, however, often require the use of barrier materials or oxygen-scavenging additives incorporated into the PET material, which is in most cases polyamide (PA). As a consequence, small amounts of polyamide are entering the PET bottle-to-bottle recycling...

A fast and reproducible method for the determination of the permeation of mineral oil components through barrier systems was developed. The approach is using model compounds instead of complex mineral oil mixtures. Therefore permeation rates can be determined for individual compounds, which is not possible when using mineral oil as permeant. The pe...

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is nowadays the packaging material of choice for beverages. Therefore knowledge about the diffusion coefficients at a certain temperature or activation energies of diffusion of potential migrants in the polymer is of interest, especially for the definition of the basic parameter set for migration modelling of PET....

Plastics bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are increasingly used for soft drinks, mineral water, juices and beer. In this study a literature review is presented concerning antimony levels found both in PET materials as well as in foods and food simulants. On the other hand, 67 PET samples from the European bottle market were invest...

Irradiation (gamma rays, electrons or X-rays) is applied to foods for improving food safety and removing and reducing pests that are harmful to plants or plant products. As ionising radiation passes through food, it creates a trail of chemical transformations by primary and secondary radiolysis effects. The main reported radiolytic products are cer...

[3+2]-Cycloaddition of nitrile oxides with alkenes, modification of isoxazoline intermediates, and subsequent cleavage give rise to a variety of functionalized acyclic structures. Each step may be used to diastereoselectively increase the number of chiral centres. Application of this concept to the synthesis of natural amino polyols, amino sugars a...

An investigation on the migration of various migrants from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) into food simulants was undertaken to determine the correlation of partition coefficients between LDPE/food simulants, K P,P and octanol/water, POW. The migration tests were carried out using four simulants (10%, 50%, 95% ethanol and olive oil) in contact wit...

Most food packages and food-contact materials are manufactured using adhesives. The European Union regulates all food-contact materials, as their constituents may not contaminate food and endanger consumers' health. In contrast to plastics which are regulated by positive lists of authorized ingredients, adhesives have not yet a specific regulation....

Monitoring of exposure to chemicals from food contact materials is a subject of increasing importance. The concentration of the chemicals and their migration levels, as well as food consumption and packaging usage data, are required to enable calculation of the degree of such exposure. The present study investigated the migration kinetics of diphen...

The Scientific Panel on Food Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (the Panel) was asked to provide scientific advice to the Commission on the implications for human health of chemically defined flavouring substances used in or on foodstuffs in the Member States. In particular, the Panel was requested to consider the Join...

The FACET project (Flavours, Additives and food Contact material Exposure Task) is a large project with a total cost in excess of Ä8M, an EU c ontribution of Ä6M, and a pan-European membership of partners and stakeholders. It starte d in 2008 and will run for 4 years. It represents a unique opportunity to take a quantum l eap beyond the state of th...

SUMMARY The Scientific Panel on Food Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (the Panel) was asked to provide scientific advice to the Commission on the implications for human health of chemically defined flavouring substances used in or on foodstuffs in the Member States. In particular, the Panel was requested to consider...

Very recently, estrogenic activity was found in mineral water packed in glass and PET bottles as well as in cardboard boxes and expressed in estradiol equivalents up to a maximum value of 75 ± 5 ng I'1. As a major source for this activity leaching of packaging constituents from plastic materials, in particular PET, was concluded by the authors. Wit...

SUMMARY The European Food Safety Authority has been asked to provide scientific opinions on the safety of smoke flavouring Primary Products used or intended for use in or on foods. This opinion concerns a smoke flavouring Primary Product, named Unismoke.

The objective of this work is to study the migration of the model migrant 1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiene (DPBD) from a low density polyethylene (LDPE) film into two representative aqueous foodstuffs in comparison to EU official food simulants. Orange juice and tomato ketchup samples were put into contact with the additivated plastic inside a migration...

Cereals are widely consumed foodstuffs and it is therefore important to take them into account when estimating consumer exposure to packaging-related chemicals. The mass transport of three model migrants (diphenylbutadiene, triclosan and BHT) from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) within dry foodstuffs of different particle size (rice and wheat flour...

The aim of this work was to study the processes of migration and transport of diphenylbutadiene, triclosan and BHT, as model migrants, from LDPE film into and within cheeses containing different amounts of fat and water (Gouda cheese, soft cheese and cottage cheese) and stored at two temperatures (5 °C and 25 °C) for different storage periods under...

The barrier effect of a silicon oxide (SiOx) coating on the inner surface of PET bottles, in terms of the ability to reduce the migration of post-consumer compounds from the PET bottle wall into food simulants (3% acetic acid and 10% ethanol), was investigated. The barrier effect was examined by artificially introducing model substances (surrogates...

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) bottles are widely used for beverages. Knowledge about the migration of organic compounds from the PET bottle wall into contact media is of interest especially when post-consumer recyclates are introduced into new PET bottles. Using migration theory, the migration of a compound can be calculated if the concentrati...

Two methods were tested and compared for the additivation of low density polyethylene (LDPE). The aim was to obtain highly contaminated plastic films to enable the study of migration (diffusion and partition phenomena). One of the methods involved immersion of low density polyethylene (LDPE) films in a concentrated solution of the selected substanc...

Definitions and Theory Migration, Extraction, and AdsorptionFunctional BarrierLegal Migration Limits and ExposureParameters Determining MigrationIndirect Migration Assessment Worst-Case (Total Mass Transfer) AssumptionGeneral Considerations: Taking Solubility and/or Low Diffusivity of Certain Plastics into AccountMigration Assessment of Mono- and M...

Principles of migration testing Analysis of specific migrants Safety assessment of modern food packaging applications

One of the main concerns regarding safety of food packaging is the possible migration of chemical substances (monomers and other starting substances, additives, residues) from food contact materials into foods. To evaluate the effect of the fat content and of the temperature of storage on the migration from plastics packaging films into meat produc...

Migration of low molecular weight substances into foodstuffs is a subject of increasing interest and an important aspect of food packaging because of the possible hazardous effects on human health.The migration of a model substance (diphenylbutadiene) from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was studied in foodstuffs with high fat contents: chocolate,...

Migration testing of sealing gaskets in metal closures for glass jars using oil or alternative solvent simulants leads to exaggerated values compared to low and medium fatty foods because of the strong interaction with the gasket material. In a feasibility study specific migration of epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO) out of a test film made of commerci...

Reference plastics as well as model migrants of different chemical and physical properties have been selected to carry out a review regarding the analytical techniques available for their determination. On the basis of their representativeness and their relevance for food contact materials, Irganox 1076®, diphenylbutadiene, Chimassorb 81®, Uvitex O...

In order to carry out a compilation of the available information on analytical methods for determination of some model migrants in selected foodstuffs, an extensive bibliographic review was done. Model migrants of different chemical structures, polarities, lipophilicity and molecular weight have been selected: styrene, bisphenol A, 1-octene, limone...

The EU legislation of monoplastics has made enormous progress and can be considered to be nearly completed. On the other hand, for multi layer plastics, there is not yet a satisfactory regulatory approach available. In principle, there are two options: (i) each plastic layer must comply with current positive lists in EU legislation or (ii) only the...

One important aspect within the European Union's public healthcare is the exposure of consumers to undesirable chemicals in the diet. Food-contact materials (FCM) are one potential contamination source and therefore of particular interest for food exposure assessment. On the other hand, scientific investigations concerning the migration potential a...

This paper describes the second part of a project whose main objective was to develop the know-how to produce certified reference materials (CRMs) for specific migration testing. Certification parameters discussed are the diffusion coefficient, D(P), the respective polymer-specific coefficient, A(P), of the migrant polymer combinations and the part...

Nylon 6 and nylon 12 food packaging materials used as sausage casings are typically exposed to fatty food on one side and boiling water on the other during the cooking process. To simulate the migration behaviour under these conditions, a special migration cell was constructed and filled with olive oil on one side of the polymer and water on the ot...

Materials and articles intended to come into contact with food must be shown to be safe because they might interact with food during processing, storage and the transportation of foodstuffs. Framework Directive 89/109/EEC and its related specific Directives provide this safety basis for the protection of the consumer against inadmissible chemical c...

The paper describes a project with the main objective of developing the know how to produce certified reference materials (CRMs) for specific migration testing. Certification parameters discussed are the initial concentration of the migrant in the polymer (C(P),0) and the specific migration into a food simulant under certain temperature/time condit...

One important aspect within the European Union's public health care is the exposure of the European consumer from undesirable chemicals in the diet. Food contact materials (FCM) are one potential contamination source and therefore of particular interest for food exposure assessments. On the other hand scientific investigations concerning the migrat...

One important aspect within the European Union's public health care is the exposure of the European consumer from undesirable chemicals in the diet. Food contact materials (FCM) are one potential contamination source and therefore of particular interest for food exposure assessments. On the other hand scientific investigations concerning the migrat...

The effects on ionising irradiation on polymer additives, monomers and polymers themselves have been investigated. Changes of initial concentrations of certain additives and monomers, a change in their specific migration as well as sensory changes of the polymers were examined. Polymer stabilizers such as Irganox 1076 and Irgafos 168 used in polyet...

Typical contamination and the frequency of misuse of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) bottles are crucial parameters in the risk assessment of post-consumer recycled (PCR) PET intended for bottle-to-bottle recycling for direct food contact applications. Owing to the fact that misuse of PET bottles is a rare event, sustainable knowledge about the...

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles which are intended for filling with beverages or other foods have to be in compliance with the food regulatory requirements as laid down in the EU Plastics Directive 2002/72/EC. It has to be assured that the overall migration limit and the specific migration limits of the monomers mono- and diethylene glycol...

Irradiation of packaging materials - in most cases plastics - generally leads to a formation of free radicals and ions, with secondary effects such as cross-linking as well as oxidative chain scission. As a consequence products radiolysis products are generated which may induce off-odors in the packaging polymers as well as changes in migration cha...

The migration of laurolactam and cyclic di- and trimer of nylon 12 was assessed using three different films and five food simulants (olive oil, isooctane, 95% ethanol, 50% ethanol, water). Substitute test conditions for migration into olive oil according to European Union Directive EC/97/48 were applied using 95% ethanol and isooctane. Results show...

The market for PET bottles for mineral water packaging is still increasing. On packaging materials very exacting levels on neutrality of odour and taste are required. In view of PET bottles the migration of acetaldehyde from the bottle wall into the mineral water is of special interest, due to the fact that acetaldehyde is noticeable in low concent...

Analytical methods for the determination of laurolactam--the monomer of nylon 12--as well as the cyclic dimer and trimer were established. High performance liquid chromatography using ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-MS) were both found suitable to identify and quantify monomer, cyclic dimer and trimer well below the spe...

Of all the plastics used for packaging, due to its low diffusivity and chemical inertness, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the favoured candidate plastics for closed-loop recycling for new packaging applications. In the work reported here, a PET-recycling process was investigated with respect to its cleaning efficiency and compliance o...