Scientifically addressing the main challenges in the safety and quality of food contact materials
Background
European citizens discard on average 170 kg of packaging per person every year, more than two thirds come from food. It is therefore important to find a good balance between the benefits of packaging in terms of food protection and its impact on the environment.
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.
Impact
Since 2000, the Task Force has published a series of guidance documents on packaging materials recognised and used by industries and universities.
In June 2020, the Task Force organised the first web-seminar “Food Packaging: is it just for protection or there is more to it?” to discuss the balance between functionality, convenience and sustainability of food packaging. More than 100 participants joined the web-seminar, including 30 representatives of public authorities and agencies.
Moreover, on December 7th we had a web-seminar on “Food Contact Materials in Circular Economy”. By 2030, the European Commission will propose measures to ensure that all packaging in the EU is reusable or recyclable. To achieve this target, the EC has adopted a new action plan, the Circular Economy Action Plan promoting circular economy processes and driving design for re-use and recyclability of packaging (European Commission, 2020). In the context of food packaging, this calls not only for new designs for recyclability and re-usability but also for new methods to assess the chemical safety of recycled food contact materials. In addition, this transition will also bring its share of challenges for bodies controlling those materials and ensuring they are indeed sustainable and safe. During the web-seminar, those three aspects were discussed in the light of emerging research. Watch it online:
Webinar 7 December 2020 – Food Contact Materials in Circular Economy
For more detailed information, please contact Dr Simeon Bourdoux at sbourdoux@ilsieurope.be at or Adam Coventry at acoventry@ilsieurope.be
Task Force Members
Dr Thomas Gude – Vice-Chair | Swiss Quality Testing Services – SQTS | Deputy Head | CH |
Prof. Thomas Simat – Co-Chair | Technical University of Dresden | Professor | DE |
Mr Sami Hamdi | Mondelēz International | Senior Associate Principal Scientist | UK |
Dr Melanie Jacquet | Danone | Food Contact Materials Food Safety Scientist | FR |
Dr Christina Northfleet | Omya International | Head of Group Regulatory Affairs | CH |
Dr Peter OIdring | Sherwin Williams | Regulatory Affairs Manager | UK |
Dr Gabriele Pieper | Tetra Pak | Managing Director | DE |
Ms Susanne Rueckert | Südzucker Group | Manager Product Safety | DE |
Dr Ute Stemmer-Letnik | Mayr-Melnhof Karton | Product Safety & Environmental Affairs | AT |
Mr Charles Turner | PPG Industries | Global Technical Director Packaging Coatings | UK |
Ms Annemiek van den Broek | Herbalife | Senior Technologist, Technical and Packaging | NL |
Mr Peter van Herwijnen | Dow Europe | Regulatory Affairs Manager | DE |
Dr Si Wang | PepsiCo International | Senior Scientist in Scientific Affairs | UK |
Dr Siméon Bourdoux | ILSI Europe | Scientific Project Manager | BE |
* Scientific Advisors
Expert Groups
Best Practices for Identifying and Quantifying Unknown Migrants from Food Contact Materials (FCMs)
Background & Objectives
The NIAS (Non-Intentionally Added Substances) are present in all Food Contact Materials. However, there is no common methodology on how to perform the sample preparation, analysis, or on how to identify and more importantly quantify the migrants.
This activity aims to provide best practices to identify and quantify unknown migrants from FCMs, with widely differing characteristics and applicable to any type of single use FCM. The objective is to determine whether a set of basic golden rules could align procedures.
Output
This activity will result in a recommendation document that will determine potential best practices to align methods available for untargeted screening and future testing.
To develop it, the draft will be discussed at an international workshop organised back-to-back with the 7th International Packaging Symposium.
Mineral Oil Risk Assessment: Knowledge Gaps and Roadmap
In collaboration with the Process-Related Compounds and Natural Toxins Task Force
7th International Symposium on Food Packaging
Due to COVID19 pandemic, the symposium had to be postponed to 2022. Specific dates to be determined.
Background & Objectives
The 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. The proceedings of these symposia are published in Food Additives and Contaminants: Part A.
Output
The 7th International Symposium on Food Packaging will be held on 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.
This three-day conference will be structured around 4 main themes:
1. Advances in analytical techniques;
2. Progress in toxicological prediction and assessment;
3. Progress in risk assessment;
4. Food Contact Materials in circular economy.
Expert Group Members
Best Practices for Identifying and Quantifying Unknown Migrants from Food Contact Materials (FCMs)
Dr Peter Oldring - Chair | The Valspar Corporation | Regulatory Affairs Manager | UK |
Prof. Cristina Nerín – Vice-Chair | University of Zaragoza | Professor | ES |
Dr Birgit Faust | Dow Chemicals | Analytical Specialist | DE |
Dr Thomas Gude | SQTS | Deputy Head | CH |
Ms Céline Lesueur | Danone | Food Safety and Analytical Governance Manager | FR |
Prof. Thomas Simat | Technical University Dresden | Professor | DE |
Dr Angela Stoermer | Fraunhofer IVV | Senior Scientist | DE |
Dr Els Van Hoeck | Sciensano | Head Of Unit - Consumer Safety | BE |
Dr Siméon Bourdoux | ILSI Europe | Scientific Project Manager | BE |
7th International Symposium on Food Packaging
Due to COVID19 pandemic, the symposium had to be postponed to 2022. Specific dates to be determined.
Organising Committee Members
Prof. Cristina Nerin – Vice-Chair | University of Zaragoza | Professor | ES |
Dr Emma Bradley | FERA Science | Head of Food Quality and Safety | UK |
Dr Nathalie Gontard | National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) | Analytical Specialist | FR |
Dr Thomas Gude | SQTS | Deputy Head | CH |
Dr Christina Northfleet | Omya International | Food Safety and Analytical Governance Manager | CH |
Dr Peter Oldring | The Valspar Corporation | Regulatory Affairs Manager | UK |
Mr Peter van Herwijnen | Dow Deutschland Vertrieb | Regulatory Affairs Manager | DE |
Dr Si Wang | PepsiCo International | Senior Scientist in Scientific Affairs | UK |
Dr Lucie Geurts | ILSI Europe | Scientific Project Manager | BE |
Scientific Committee Members
Prof. Alejandro Ariosti | National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) | Technical Assistant Food Packaging | AR |
Dr Tim Begley | US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) | Director Division of Analytical Chemistry | US |
Dr Emma Bradley | FERA Science | Head of Food Quality and Safety | UK |
Prof. Nathalie Gontard | National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) | Research Director | FR |
Dr David Kirkland | Kirkland Consulting | Toxicologist | UK |
Dr Roger Meuwly | Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) | Scientific Collaborator | CH |
Prof. Cristina Nerín | University of Zaragoza | Professor | ES |
Prof. Peter Ragaert | University of Ghent | Professor | BE |
Prof. Thomas Simat | Technical University of Dresden | Professor | DE |
Prof. Peter Simon | Slovak University of Technology | Professor | SK |
Dr Frank Welle | Fraunhofer Institute (IVV) | Development Manager Packaging | DE |
Prof. Selçuk Yildirim | Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) | Head of Center of Technology and Packaging | CH |
Dr Marco Zhong | National Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Material - IQTC | Laboratory Director | CN |
Publications
A to Z
Outlook and Challenges of Nanotechnologies for Food Packaging
2016
Packaging Technology and Science. 2016;29(12): 615-648. Commissioned by the Packaging Materials Task Force.
Packaging Materials 1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) for Food Packaging Applications
2000
ILSI Europe Report Series.
Packaging Materials 1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) for Food Packaging Applications. Updated version
2017
ILSI Europe Report Series. 2017:1-24. Commissioned by the Packaging Materials Task Force.
Packaging Materials 10: Adhesives for Food Packaging Applications
2018
ILSI Europe Report Series. 2018:1-37. Commissioned by the Packaging Materials Task Force.
Packaging Materials 2: Polystyrene for Food Packaging Applications
2002
ILSI Europe Report Series.