[Contaminants from food packaging : New developments in risk assessment]

Area of Science:

• Food safety regulations
• Chemical risk assessment
• Toxicology

Background:

• Diverse materials for food contact pose contamination risks.
• Harmonised European regulations with positive lists and migration limits apply only to plastics and regenerated cellulose films.
• The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducts risk assessments for substances migrating into food.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss recent developments in risk assessment for substances migrating into food.
• To address the relevance of non-intentionally added substances (NIASs) in food contact materials.
• To explore challenges posed by new technologies in food contact material safety assessments.

Main Methods:

• Tiered approach for toxicological data requirements based on migration levels (up to 50 ppb requires genotoxicity testing; >50 ppb requires animal studies).
• Utilizing toxicological data from structurally similar substances to reduce animal testing.
• Application of in silico methods for risk assessment of NIASs in the absence of experimental data.

Main Results:

• Migration quantities up to 50 ppb are subject to restricted genotoxicity testing.
• Higher migration levels necessitate experimental animal studies.
• In silico methods offer a viable approach for NIAS risk assessment.

Conclusions:

• EFSA's risk assessment framework accommodates varying migration levels and NIASs.
• Reducing animal studies through justified use of analogue data and in silico methods is a key objective.
• Emerging technologies like nanomaterials and recycled plastics present new challenges for regulatory risk assessment.