Issue 3 2016

50
processing & packaging
food-contact laws are rapidly
evolving, creating the need to
move to the next generation
technology for food packaging.
Non-Intentionally Added
Substances
Food-contact packaging materials
have been thoroughly tested over
the years and are inherently safe
but this sudden focus and
technology advance has raised the
attention on NIAS (Non-
Intentionally Added Substances)
that could come from various
steps in the manufacturing
process and can now be detected.
No one expects these compounds,
that are present at ppm or even
ppb level, to have acute impact on
the safety and environmental
profile of packaging materials, but
in a spirit of a zero-risk culture, the
industry is taking action.
Regulators are paying attention,
brands are paying attention and
our Facebook friends are paying
attention. This article reviews
recent evolution in the regulatory
landscape when it comes to NIAS
and food contact materials and
how a new generation of additives
for polyethylene is being
developed.
Polyethylene packaging resins are
very simple polymers and they are
inherently completely safe for food
contact. But as with any polymer,
they require a ppm level of
additives such as antioxidants to
be added in-process to protect the
material and maintain its integrity
along its lifecycle. Anti-oxidants
help protect the food and are a
must-have in lightweight
packaging. The antioxidants used
in polyethylene are safe materials
that have been thoroughly tested
and used for more than 30 years in
food contact applications. The
industry is now pushing the safety
principle further, looking into
potential degradants from these
additives that could migrate at
ppm or ppb level into food.
Tackling the challenge
Best in class additives
manufacturers and polyethylene
resin producers started to tackle
this challenge several years ago. A
new generation of plastic additives
is emerging and replacements for
outdated technologies such as Tris
Nonylphenyl Phosphite(TNPP)
antioxidants are now available.
The new additives for food
packaging are designed with food
contact constraints in mind and
have been tested on the
toxicological profile of any
potential NIAS, including traces of
impurity that could come from
Non-Intentionally-Added-
Substances, could there be traces
of impurities coming from their
manufacturing process, or
potential degradants that could
emerge from their in-process life
cycle.
The industry started 15 years ago
to dive deeply into understanding
the chemistry of the aging of a
material, ensuring that all potential
degradants that could occur during
the lifecycle of a packaging are
thoroughly tested and proven safe,
even if they exist only at trace
level in the final packaging. No
other packaging material has
undergone the same thorough
analysis than what is currently
ongoing in the polyolefin industry,
reinforcing the inherent safety,
versatility and recyclability of
polyethylene as packaging
material.
This started with the work of
Professor Arvin on the organic
compounds migrating from
polyethylene pipes into water.
From his GC-MS work, a series of
10 degradants (or as we would
today call them NIAS) were
identified.
Many of these compounds found
as traces had no toxicological
profile and their migration or origin
was not always well understood.
These degradants of additives,
present at ppm levels or ppb in
packaging materials have started
to be tested for their toxicology.
Their migration patterns have been
studied and they either have been
www.foodmagazine.eu.com issue three | 2016