Migration and mutagenic potentiality of food contact materials: A new strategy for testing their safety

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• 作者：Leguy ; Isabelle ; Le Bon ; Anne-Marie ; Belloir ; Christine ; Lhuguenot ; Jean-Claude ; Chagnon ; Marie-Christine
• 关键词：Food contact materials ; Migration ; Genotoxicity
• 刊名：Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis
• 出版年：1997
• 出版时间：September, 1997
• 年：1997
• 卷：379
• 期：1
• 页码：S198-S199
• 全文大小：165 K

文摘

Plastics are widely used as food contact materials. Some food packaging constituents can migrate into foodstuffs. Because the health effects of degradation products generated from monomers and additives or the effects of impurities from the raw materials have never been evaluated in detail, the migration and the potentially genotoxic and/or carcinogenic effects of all constituents released from packaging materials must be investigated. We have developed a quality control strategy using both physicochemical and biological methods. Four food packaging materials were investigated: polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate. Migration tests of non volatile compounds were performed into fatty food simulating liquids: isooctane or ethanol 95 % using testing procedures of the EU legislation. Released compounds such as antioxidants were analysed by HPLC. Toxicity and mutagenicity of the concentrates were determined in the Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 with and without metabolic activation. For all materials studied, overall migration and antioxidants specific migration values were below the EU migration limits. The mutagenicity tests on non volatile migrant compounds gave always negative results. In our study, we have set up a suitable screening method to detect the potential mutagenic constituents released from food packaging materials. This quality control strategy could be recommended by the regulatory authorities to improve the consumer safety.