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Gerassimidou S, Geueke B, Groh KJ, Muncke J, Hahladakis JN, Martin OV, Iacovidou E. Unpacking the complexity of the polyethylene food contact articles value chain: A chemicals perspective. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 454:131422. [PMID: 37099905 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Polyethylene (PE) is the most widely used type of plastic food packaging, in which chemicals can potentially migrate into packaged foods. The implications of using and recycling PE from a chemical perspective remain underexplored. This study is a systematic evidence map of 116 studies looking at the migration of food contact chemicals (FCCs) across the lifecycle of PE food packaging. It identified a total of 377 FCCs, of which 211 were detected to migrate from PE articles into food or food simulants at least once. These 211 FCCs were checked against the inventory FCCs databases and EU regulatory lists. Only 25% of the detected FCCs are authorized by EU regulation for the manufacture of food contact materials. Furthermore, a quarter of authorized FCCs exceeded the specific migration limit (SML) at least once, while one-third (53) of non-authorised FCCs exceeded the threshold value of 10 μg/kg. Overall, evidence on FCCs migration across the PE food packaging lifecycle is incomplete, especially at the reprocessing stage. Considering the EU's commitment to increase packaging recycling, a better understanding and monitoring of PE food packaging quality from a chemical perspective across the entire lifecycle will enable the transition towards a sustainable plastics value chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spyridoula Gerassimidou
- Sustainable Plastics Research Group (SPlasH), Brunel University London, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, United Kingdom
| | - Birgit Geueke
- Food Packaging Forum (FPF), 8045 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ksenia J Groh
- Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Jane Muncke
- Food Packaging Forum (FPF), 8045 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - John N Hahladakis
- Food-Energy-Water-Waste Sustainability (FEWWS) Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, P.O. Box: 2713, Doha, Qatar
| | - Olwenn V Martin
- Plastic Waste Innovation Hub, Department of Arts and Science, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | - Eleni Iacovidou
- Sustainable Plastics Research Group (SPlasH), Brunel University London, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, United Kingdom; Division of Environmental Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, United Kingdom.
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Schreier VN, Odermatt A, Welle F. Migration Modeling as a Valuable Tool for Exposure Assessment and Risk Characterization of Polyethylene Terephthalate Oligomers. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 28:molecules28010173. [PMID: 36615365 PMCID: PMC9822255 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28010173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most widely used food contact materials due to its excellent mechanical properties and recyclability. Migration of substances from PET and assessment of compliance are usually determined by experimental testing, which can be challenging depending on the migrants of interest. Low concentrations and missing reference standards, among other factors, have led to inadequate investigation of the migration potential of PET oligomers. Migration modeling can overcome such limitations and is therefore a suitable starting point for exposure and risk assessment. In this study, the activation energy-based (EA) model and the AP model were used to systematically evaluate the migration potential of 52 PET oligomers for 12 different application scenarios. Modeling parameters and conditions were evaluated to investigate their impact and relevance on the assessment of realistic exposures. Obtained results were compared with safety thresholds known from the concept of toxicological thresholds of concern. This allowed the evaluation and identification of oligomers and/or applications where migration or exposure levels may be associated with a potential risk because they exceed these safety thresholds. Overall, this study demonstrated that migration modeling can be a high-throughput, fast, flexible, and suitable approach for comprehensive exposure assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena N. Schreier
- Division of Molecular and Systems Toxicology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), University of Basel, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alex Odermatt
- Division of Molecular and Systems Toxicology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), University of Basel, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Frank Welle
- Product Safety and Analytics Department, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (IVV), 85354 Freising, Germany
- Correspondence:
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Douziech M, Benítez-López A, Ernstoff A, Askham C, Hendriks AJ, King H, Huijbregts MAJ. A regression-based model to predict chemical migration from packaging to food. JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 2020; 30:469-477. [PMID: 31641273 DOI: 10.1038/s41370-019-0185-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Packaging materials can be a source of chemical contaminants in food. Process-based migration models (PMM) predict the chemical fraction transferred from packaging materials to food (FC) for application in prioritisation tools for human exposure. These models, however, have a relatively limited applicability domain and their predictive performance is typically low. To overcome these limitations, we developed a linear mixed-effects model (LMM) to statistically relate measured FC to properties of chemicals, food, packaging, and experimental conditions. We found a negative relationship between the molecular weight (MW) and FC, and a positive relationship with the fat content of the food depending on the octanol-water partitioning coefficient of the migrant. We also showed that large chemicals (MW > 400 g/mol) have a higher migration potential in packaging with low crystallinity compared with high crystallinity. The predictive performance of the LMM for chemicals not included in the database in contact with untested food items but known packaging material was higher (Coefficient of Efficiency (CoE) = 0.21) compared with a recently developed PMM (CoE = -5.24). We conclude that our empirical model is useful to predict chemical migration from packaging to food and prioritise chemicals in the absence of measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Douziech
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Ana Benítez-López
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Integrative Ecology, Avd. Americo Vespucio s/n, 41001, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Alexi Ernstoff
- Quantis, EPFL Innovation Park-Bâtiment D, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - A Jan Hendriks
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Henry King
- Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Colworth Science Park, Bedfordshire, MK441LQ, UK
| | - Mark A J Huijbregts
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Biryol D, Nicolas CI, Wambaugh J, Phillips K, Isaacs K. High-throughput dietary exposure predictions for chemical migrants from food contact substances for use in chemical prioritization. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2017; 108:185-194. [PMID: 28865378 PMCID: PMC5894819 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2017.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2016] [Revised: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/08/2017] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Under the ExpoCast program, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) researchers have developed a high-throughput (HT) framework for estimating aggregate exposures to chemicals from multiple pathways to support rapid prioritization of chemicals. Here, we present methods to estimate HT exposures to chemicals migrating into food from food contact substances (FCS). These methods consisted of combining an empirical model of chemical migration with estimates of daily population food intakes derived from food diaries from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). A linear regression model for migration at equilibrium was developed by fitting available migration measurements as a function of temperature, food type (i.e., fatty, aqueous, acidic, alcoholic), initial chemical concentration in the FCS (C0) and chemical properties. The most predictive variables in the resulting model were C0, molecular weight, log Kow, and food type (R2=0.71, p<0.0001). Migration-based concentrations for 1009 chemicals identified via publicly-available data sources as being present in polymer FCSs were predicted for 12 food groups (combinations of 3 storage temperatures and food type). The model was parameterized with screening-level estimates of C0 based on the functional role of chemicals in FCS. By combining these concentrations with daily intakes for food groups derived from NHANES, population ingestion exposures of chemical in mg/kg-bodyweight/day (mg/kg-BW/day) were estimated. Calibrated aggregate exposures were estimated for 1931 chemicals by fitting HT FCS and consumer product exposures to exposures inferred from NHANES biomonitoring (R2=0.61, p<0.001); both FCS and consumer product pathway exposures were significantly predictive of inferred exposures. Including the FCS pathway significantly impacted the ratio of predicted exposures to those estimated to produce steady-state blood concentrations equal to in-vitro bioactive concentrations. While these HT methods have large uncertainties (and thus may not be appropriate for assessments of single chemicals), they can provide critical refinement to aggregate exposure predictions used in risk-based chemical priority-setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derya Biryol
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, United States; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States
| | - Chantel I Nicolas
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, United States; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Center for Computational Toxicology, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States
| | - John Wambaugh
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Center for Computational Toxicology, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States
| | - Katherine Phillips
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States
| | - Kristin Isaacs
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States.
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Fang X, Vitrac O. Predicting diffusion coefficients of chemicals in and through packaging materials. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2017; 57:275-312. [PMID: 25831407 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2013.849654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Most of the physicochemical properties in polymers such as activity and partition coefficients, diffusion coefficients, and their activation with temperature are accessible to direct calculations from first principles. Such predictions are particularly relevant for food packaging as they can be used (1) to demonstrate the compliance or safety of numerous polymer materials and of their constitutive substances (e.g. additives, residues…), when they are used: as containers, coatings, sealants, gaskets, printing inks, etc. (2) or to predict the indirect contamination of food by pollutants (e.g. from recycled polymers, storage ambiance…) (3) or to assess the plasticization of materials in contact by food constituents (e.g. fat matter, aroma…). This review article summarizes the classical and last mechanistic descriptions of diffusion in polymers and discusses the reliability of semi-empirical approaches used for compliance testing both in EU and US. It is concluded that simulation of diffusion in or through polymers is not limited to worst-case assumptions but could also be applied to real cases for risk assessment, designing packaging with low leaching risk or to synthesize plastic additives with low diffusion rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyi Fang
- a AgroParisTech, UMR 1145 Ingénierie Procédés Aliments , Massy , France.,b INRA, UMR 1145 Ingénierie Procédés Aliments , Massy , France
| | - Olivier Vitrac
- a AgroParisTech, UMR 1145 Ingénierie Procédés Aliments , Massy , France.,b INRA, UMR 1145 Ingénierie Procédés Aliments , Massy , France
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