Food Packaging & Health

The process of chemical risk assessment: Hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment and hazard characterization

The Flavours, Additives, and food Contact materials Exposure Task (FACET) tool, a probabilistic model to estimate exposure to food contact substances from primary packaging

Many people suffer from chronic diseases worldwide. The increase in these diseases over short time means that they cannot only be caused by heritable gene defects. Also, studies in identical and non-identical twins can help disentangle the contribution genes and the environment have on disease development.

Are threshold concepts safe alternatives for the risk assessment of food contact materials? The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) and the Threshold of Regulation (TOR) are risk assessment tools assigning human exposure thresholds to substances with known chemical structure, but unknown toxicity. The Food Packaging Forum reviews advantages and challenges of threshold concepts.

The application of engineered nanomaterials in food contact materials is considered promising tool to improve functionality, but knowledge about exposure and toxicity remains limited. The Food Packaging Forum reviews applications, exposure, toxicity and regulation of nanomaterials.

In Japan food contact materials, especially polymers, are regulated by national legislation as well as by voluntary industry guidelines.

In the U.S. the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) charged with the control of food safety, and supervises the implementation and the enforcement of the various existing regulations.

In Europe national legislation and community level legislation continue to coexist. At the community level various directives and regulations exist.

Materials which are intended to come into contact with food are regulated in many countries. This article summarizes the legal situation in Europe, the US and Japan.

Food packaging can be a source of chemical food contaminants. The transfer of chemical contaminants from food contact materials into food is called migration. According to some scientists, food contact materials are an underestimated source of chemical food contamination.