Packaging Materials

Packaging Materials

Scientifically addressing the main challenges in the safety and quality of food contact materials

Task Force Information

Objectives and list of Task Force
members

Contact Information

Contact details in case you have specific questions

Activity Overview

Overview of ongoing and
upcoming activities

Expert Groups

Objectives, output and list of experts involved in each activity

International Symposium on Food Packaging

The flagship event of the Packaging Materials Task Force

Publications

List of publications of this
Task Force

Multimedia

Links to Task Force related documents, recordings and much more...

Completed Expert Groups

Details including experts involved of
each activity

Task Force Information

Objectives

For more than 30 years, the Task Force has strived to understand the challenges to ensure safe food contact materials for food consumption by:

  • Evaluating food contact materials safety and their interactions with food to ensure consumers’ safety at minimal environmental impact.
  • Addressing recent improvements in food production and distribution, leading to an increased sophistication of food packaging.

Task Force Members

WP DataTables

* Scientific Advisors

Contact Information

For more detailed information, please contact Konrad Korzeniowski at kkorzeniowski@ilsieurope.be

Activity Overview

Ongoing

- Safety assessment of recycling processes for polyolefins (PO) and polystyrene (PS).

The Task Force is organising a workshop to determine the most appropriate evaluation criteria for the safety of these materials. These requirements would help ensure all the potential safety risks are taken into account and controlled with a holistic approach from feedstock to final articles reaching the consumer in compliance with the high standards of safety expected by EFSA.

Workshop date: 21-22 Oct 2025

In the pipeline

- International Symposium on Food Packaging

The flagship event of the Packaging Materials Task Force. The next edition is planned for Spring 2028.

- Recyclability of plastic packaging

An activity developed on the outcomes of the workshop of Oct 2025.

- Functional barriers safety, risk assessment and management

 

Expert Groups

Coming soon...

International Symposium on Food Packaging

About the event

ILSI Europe International Symposium on Food Packaging is held every four years. It is internationally recognised as a scientific forum to discuss and move forward the science that supports safety and innovation in the field, with minimal environmental impact. This conference of experts facilitates transfer of knowledge and brings innovative solutions to the most pressing issues in this field.

Previous editions

Curious about the journey so far? Explore the highlights, programmes, and key takeaways from our previous editions below.

Publications

Filter

White Papers/Reports

WP_Query Object
(
    [query] => Array
        (
            [post_type] => publication
            [posts_per_page] => 5
            [type] => 
            [area] => 
            [committee] => Packaging Materials
            [authors] => 
            [showtitle] => 
            [meta_query] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [key] => _ilsi_type
                            [value] => white-paper-report
                            [compare] => =
                        )

                )

            [tax_query] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [taxonomy] => ilsi_committee
                            [field] => name
                            [terms] => Packaging Materials
                        )

                )

            [paged] => 2
            [meta_key] => _ilsi_date
            [orderby] => meta_value
            [order] => DESC
        )

    [query_vars] => Array
        (
            [post_type] => publication
            [posts_per_page] => 5
            [type] => 
            [area] => 
            [committee] => Packaging Materials
            [authors] => 
            [showtitle] => 
            [meta_query] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [key] => _ilsi_type
                            [value] => white-paper-report
                            [compare] => =
                        )

                )

            [tax_query] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [taxonomy] => ilsi_committee
                            [field] => name
                            [terms] => Packaging Materials
                        )

                )

            [paged] => 2
            [meta_key] => _ilsi_date
            [orderby] => meta_value
            [order] => DESC
            [error] => 
            [m] => 
            [p] => 0
            [post_parent] => 
            [subpost] => 
            [subpost_id] => 
            [attachment] => 
            [attachment_id] => 0
            [name] => 
            [pagename] => 
            [page_id] => 0
            [second] => 
            [minute] => 
            [hour] => 
            [day] => 0
            [monthnum] => 0
            [year] => 0
            [w] => 0
            [category_name] => 
            [tag] => 
            [cat] => 
            [tag_id] => 
            [author] => 
            [author_name] => 
            [feed] => 
            [tb] => 
            [meta_value] => 
            [preview] => 
            [s] => 
            [sentence] => 
            [title] => 
            [fields] => all
            [menu_order] => 
             => 
            [category__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [category__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [category__and] => Array
                (
                )

            [post__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [post__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [post_name__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag__and] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag_slug__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag_slug__and] => Array
                (
                )

            [post_parent__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [post_parent__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [author__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [author__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [search_columns] => Array
                (
                )

            [ignore_sticky_posts] => 
            [suppress_filters] => 
            [cache_results] => 1
            [update_post_term_cache] => 1
            [update_menu_item_cache] => 
            [lazy_load_term_meta] => 1
            [update_post_meta_cache] => 1
            [nopaging] => 
            [comments_per_page] => 50
            [no_found_rows] => 
            [taxonomy] => ilsi_committee
            [term_id] => Packaging Materials
        )

    [tax_query] => WP_Tax_Query Object
        (
            [queries] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [taxonomy] => ilsi_committee
                            [terms] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Packaging Materials
                                )

                            [field] => name
                            [operator] => IN
                            [include_children] => 1
                        )

                )

            [relation] => AND
            [table_aliases:protected] => Array
                (
                    [0] => wp_3_term_relationships
                )

            [queried_terms] => Array
                (
                    [ilsi_committee] => Array
                        (
                            [terms] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Packaging Materials
                                )

                            [field] => name
                        )

                )

            [primary_table] => wp_3_posts
            [primary_id_column] => ID
        )

    [meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object
        (
            [queries] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [key] => _ilsi_date
                        )

                    [1] => Array
                        (
                            [0] => Array
                                (
                                    [key] => _ilsi_type
                                    [value] => white-paper-report
                                    [compare] => =
                                )

                            [relation] => OR
                        )

                    [relation] => AND
                )

            [relation] => AND
            [meta_table] => wp_3_postmeta
            [meta_id_column] => post_id
            [primary_table] => wp_3_posts
            [primary_id_column] => ID
            [table_aliases:protected] => Array
                (
                    [0] => wp_3_postmeta
                    [1] => mt1
                )

            [clauses:protected] => Array
                (
                    [wp_3_postmeta] => Array
                        (
                            [key] => _ilsi_date
                            [compare] => =
                            [compare_key] => =
                            [alias] => wp_3_postmeta
                            [cast] => CHAR
                        )

                    [mt1] => Array
                        (
                            [key] => _ilsi_type
                            [value] => white-paper-report
                            [compare] => =
                            [compare_key] => =
                            [alias] => mt1
                            [cast] => CHAR
                        )

                )

            [has_or_relation:protected] => 
        )

    [date_query] => 
    [request] => SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS  wp_3_posts.ID
					 FROM wp_3_posts  LEFT JOIN wp_3_term_relationships ON (wp_3_posts.ID = wp_3_term_relationships.object_id) INNER JOIN wp_3_postmeta ON ( wp_3_posts.ID = wp_3_postmeta.post_id )  INNER JOIN wp_3_postmeta AS mt1 ON ( wp_3_posts.ID = mt1.post_id )
					 WHERE 1=1  AND ( 
  wp_3_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (41)
) AND ( 
  wp_3_postmeta.meta_key = '_ilsi_date' 
  AND 
  ( 
    ( mt1.meta_key = '_ilsi_type' AND mt1.meta_value = 'white-paper-report' )
  )
) AND ((wp_3_posts.post_type = 'publication' AND (wp_3_posts.post_status = 'publish' OR wp_3_posts.post_status = 'acf-disabled')))
					 GROUP BY wp_3_posts.ID
					 ORDER BY wp_3_postmeta.meta_value DESC
					 LIMIT 5, 5
    [posts] => Array
        (
            [0] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 1719
                    [post_author] => 12
                    [post_date] => 2016-06-18 03:00:58
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2016-06-18 03:00:58
                    [post_content] => 
                    [post_title] => Packaging Materials 8: Printing Inks for Food Packaging Composition and Properties of Printing Inks
                    [post_excerpt] => 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => closed
                    [ping_status] => closed
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => packaging-materials-8-printing-inks-for-food-packaging-composition-and-properties-of-printing-inks
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2018-12-05 09:48:14
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2018-12-05 09:48:14
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => http://ilsi.eu/?post_type=publication&p=1719
                    [menu_order] => 0
                    [post_type] => publication
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

            [1] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 1721
                    [post_author] => 12
                    [post_date] => 2016-06-18 03:04:02
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2016-06-18 03:04:02
                    [post_content] => 
                    [post_title] => Packaging Materials 9: Multilayer Packaging for Food and Beverages
                    [post_excerpt] => 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => closed
                    [ping_status] => closed
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => packaging-materials-9-multilayer-packaging-for-food-and-beverages
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2018-12-05 09:44:50
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2018-12-05 09:44:50
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => http://ilsi.eu/?post_type=publication&p=1721
                    [menu_order] => 0
                    [post_type] => publication
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

            [2] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 1848
                    [post_author] => 12
                    [post_date] => 2016-06-24 03:09:55
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2016-06-24 03:09:55
                    [post_content] => 
                    [post_title] => Guidance for Exposure Assessment of Substances Migrating From Food Packaging Materials
                    [post_excerpt] => 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => closed
                    [ping_status] => closed
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => guidance-for-exposure-assessment-of-substances-migrating-from-food-packaging-materials
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2016-06-24 03:09:55
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2016-06-24 03:09:55
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => http://ilsi.eu/?post_type=publication&p=1848
                    [menu_order] => 0
                    [post_type] => publication
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

            [3] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 1856
                    [post_author] => 12
                    [post_date] => 2016-06-24 03:29:40
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2016-06-24 03:29:40
                    [post_content] => 
                    [post_title] => Packaging Materials 7: Metal Packaging for Foodstuffs
                    [post_excerpt] => 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => closed
                    [ping_status] => closed
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => packaging-materials-7-metal-packaging-for-foodstuffs
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2016-06-24 17:22:30
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2016-06-24 17:22:30
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => http://ilsi.eu/?post_type=publication&p=1856
                    [menu_order] => 0
                    [post_type] => publication
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

            [4] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 1958
                    [post_author] => 12
                    [post_date] => 2016-06-27 18:58:34
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2016-06-27 18:58:34
                    [post_content] => 
                    [post_title] => Packaging Materials 5: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) for Food Packaging Applications
                    [post_excerpt] => 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => closed
                    [ping_status] => closed
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => packaging-materials-5-polyvinyl-chloride-pvc-for-food-packaging-applications
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2016-06-27 18:58:34
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2016-06-27 18:58:34
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => http://ilsi.eu/?post_type=publication&p=1958
                    [menu_order] => 0
                    [post_type] => publication
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

        )

    [post_count] => 5
    [current_post] => -1
    [before_loop] => 
    [in_the_loop] => 
    [post] => WP_Post Object
        (
            [ID] => 1719
            [post_author] => 12
            [post_date] => 2016-06-18 03:00:58
            [post_date_gmt] => 2016-06-18 03:00:58
            [post_content] => 
            [post_title] => Packaging Materials 8: Printing Inks for Food Packaging Composition and Properties of Printing Inks
            [post_excerpt] => 
            [post_status] => publish
            [comment_status] => closed
            [ping_status] => closed
            [post_password] => 
            [post_name] => packaging-materials-8-printing-inks-for-food-packaging-composition-and-properties-of-printing-inks
            [to_ping] => 
            [pinged] => 
            [post_modified] => 2018-12-05 09:48:14
            [post_modified_gmt] => 2018-12-05 09:48:14
            [post_content_filtered] => 
            [post_parent] => 0
            [guid] => http://ilsi.eu/?post_type=publication&p=1719
            [menu_order] => 0
            [post_type] => publication
            [post_mime_type] => 
            [comment_count] => 0
            [filter] => raw
        )

    [comment_count] => 0
    [current_comment] => -1
    [found_posts] => 14
    [max_num_pages] => 3
    [max_num_comment_pages] => 0
    [is_single] => 
    [is_preview] => 
    [is_page] => 
    [is_archive] => 1
    [is_date] => 
    [is_year] => 
    [is_month] => 
    [is_day] => 
    [is_time] => 
    [is_author] => 
    [is_category] => 
    [is_tag] => 
    [is_tax] => 1
    [is_search] => 
    [is_feed] => 
    [is_comment_feed] => 
    [is_trackback] => 
    [is_home] => 
    [is_privacy_policy] => 
    [is_404] => 
    [is_embed] => 
    [is_paged] => 1
    [is_admin] => 
    [is_attachment] => 
    [is_singular] => 
    [is_robots] => 
    [is_favicon] => 
    [is_posts_page] => 
    [is_post_type_archive] => 
    [query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 272b692ee97131d4cde1e010527e11fa
    [query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => 
    [thumbnails_cached] => 
    [allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] => 
    [stopwords:WP_Query:private] => 
    [compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
        (
            [0] => query_vars_hash
            [1] => query_vars_changed
        )

    [compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
        (
            [0] => init_query_flags
            [1] => parse_tax_query
        )

    [query_cache_key:WP_Query:private] => wp_query:c008614d93359aacc4dd15365c2aa7c6:0.86781200 17710687980.80878600 1771068798
)

Multimedia

One-Pager

Completed Expert Groups

- Harmonised Approaches for Risk Assessment and Management of Food Contact Materials and Articles

- Mineral Oil Risk Assessment: Knowledge Gaps and Roadmap (collaboration with Food Contaminants Task Force)

- Roles and Applications of in Vitro Bioassays in Safety Evaluation of Food Contact Materials