[Safety of food contact materials]

For materials and articles intended to come in contact with food - particularly for substances from plastics (e.g., monomers, additives) - there are comprehensive European regulations based on toxicological evaluations. Other food contact materials, e.g., paper and rubber, are covered by resolutions established by the European Council without additional evaluations, while in Germany substances from these materials are toxicologically evaluated by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and are included in the "BfR recommendations". Some further areas of food contact materials are not regulated by European or by national regulations (e.g., substances from printing inks). Recently, new European regulations for recycled plastics intended for food contact and for active and intelligent materials and articles have been released. Future challenges are the risk assessment of contaminants and reaction products from the production of food contact substances, which may migrate into the food in only tiny amounts, and of complex mixtures of substances, e.g., of hormone-like substances (endocrine disruptors).