Packaging and materials intended to come into contact with food – depending on their composition – may present food safety risks in cases of allergies and intolerances (i.e. celiac disease).
The composition of ‘food contact materials’ may, on the other hand, be incompatible with food sensitivities linked to religious dictates (e.g. halal, kosher) or individual choices (e.g. vegan).
The sector legislation in the EU is still unbalanced in favor of industries, which can omit essential information on this last point. Without prejudice to the duty to guarantee the general safety of products.
1) Food packaging and food contact materials, what news?
Food contact materials and articles Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 merely requires that all food packaging and food contact materials display the following information on the label:
a) the wording ‘for contact with food products’ or a specific indication of their use (e.g. coffee maker, wine bottle, soup spoon), or the appropriate symbol. Unless the characteristics of the product make it clear that it is intended for contact with food;
(b) where applicable, special instructions to be observed to ensure safe and proper use;
(c) the name or business name and, in both cases, the address or registered office of the manufacturer, processor or seller established in the EU responsible for placing on the market;
d) adequate labelling or identification, which ensures the traceability of the material or object.
The information must be reported on the materials and objects, or on their packaging. (1)
2) Active and intelligent materials
The materials and active and intelligent objects are able, respectively, to:
-absorb or release substances, inside or outside the package
-monitor the state of conservation of the food (i.e. temperature and color sensors). (2)
The industrial operators responsible for consumer information must provide specific information on the label, in order to:
-ensure safe use of food packaging. And so, specify the conditions of use (ie ‘avoid contact with fatty foods’, for the transparent PVC films);
-specify the identity and quantity of any active substances released (qualified as food ingredients);
-in case of possible confusion on the part of consumers, add the wording ‘do not eat’ (in characters > 3 mm in size) and where possible the appropriate symbol.
3) The missing information
The packages of materials and objects intended to come into contact with food, paradoxically:
– must display environmental labelling specifying their packaging materials, for the purposes of correct disposal of the related waste, with a view to their separate collection;
– they do not have to report the composition of the ‘food contact materials’ themselves. Without prejudice to the responsibilities set out below.
4) Migrations from packaging to food
In theory, all food packaging and food contact materials must be manufactured in compliance with the specific Good Manufacturing Practices Regulation (EC) 2023/2006. For the specific purpose of ‘do not release substances that are dangerous to human health and/or that may unacceptably alter the composition or organoleptic characteristics of food’.
In practice, the migration of toxic chemicals from contact materials to food is still largely devoid of specific regulation. (3) Pending a structural reform of the EU legislation in the sector already promised in vain by the first Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen.
General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/998 – applicable from 15 December 2024 – has however introduced the general responsibility of all operators in the supply chain, including sellers, to place on the market products that are safe for public health. On the basis of adequate analyses that must also consider the risks indicated in the literature.
5) Allergies and intolerances, dangerous migrations
A recent scientific study (Mossburger et al., 2024) has demonstrated how the transition towards bio-based materials and biodegradable polymers – obtained by microbial fermentation or direct production – can lead to gluten migration, in the case of using raw materials derived from cereals containing it (i.e. barley, wheat, rye). (4)
The presence of gluten – dangerous both for celiacs and for consumers allergic to the individual cereals that contain it – can also be caused by additives added to give the materials particular properties (i.e. formation of protective films).
A systematic review analyzed plates, forks, knives, straws and waffle cups, finding the following:
-gluten content varying between 12,8 g/kg and 91,4 g/kg;
-migration into liquid and solid foods used in the test from all objects, except cutlery;
-the stability of the materials, the foods with which they have been in contact and the times of interaction would appear to be the determining factors for the extent of gluten migration. (5)
5.1) Gluten migrations, the precedents
AOECS – Association of European Celiac Societies – had already denounced this emerging food safety risk, in 2023, reporting the results of some independent studies conducted in several EU Member States:
– Italy. AIC, the Italian Celiac Association (AIC), in cooperation with the Italian Packaging Institute, has shown how biodegradable tableware made with raw materials containing gluten is capable of contaminating gluten-free foods (i.e. cheese, gluten-free lasagna) at levels well above the relevant threshold; (6)
– Spain, Netherlands. Spanish and Dutch studies have shown significant levels of gluten (up to 80 mg/kg) in dishes made with wheat bran. As well as in straws made with the same material, at less significant but not negligible levels.
Evident, in both cases, the risk of contaminating the food with which these objects come into contact. (7)
5.2) Casein and lactose
Among the permitted additives casein is also found in the production of materials and objects in contact with food (MOCA), which in turn constitutes an allergen.
The risk analysis, in this case, must therefore consider the risks of:
-possible migration of casein from food contact materials to foods
-possible ‘cross contact’ of lactose, in the production of raw materials, and possible migration of its residues.
6) Food packaging and veg, halal, kosher diets
Jelly – derived by hydrolysis of collagen, a protein extracted from the connective tissue of various animal species, both terrestrial and aquatic – is in turn included among the additives permitted in the production of food packaging and other materials in contact with food.
The information on the presence of gelatine, and on the animal species from which it is derived, is not relevant in itself for food safety purposes and is not mandatory. However, it is important for consumers who follow vegetarian or vegan diets, as well as kosher and halal. And this is why some certification schemes, such as VeganOK, also consider packaging for all uses (e.g. food, cosmetics). (8)
8) Provisional conclusions
Particular attention should be addressed to cases in which substances capable of causing allergies or intolerances are inserted or may in any case remain in food packaging and materials in contact with food. In such cases, operators are responsible for carrying out migration tests and – where appropriate – providing specific information on the label.
The European discipline of ‘food contact materials and articles’ is completely unsatisfactory, moreover, from several points of view. Most of the categories of materials lack common rules, and the praiseworthy guidelines of the JRC (Joint Research Center, European Commission) are not enough to fill the serious substantial gaps. (9)
The information to the consumer on the composition of these materials and objects – with specific provisions regarding the presence of substances that are the subject of specific sensitivities – must in any case be guaranteed, in the long-awaited reform of this area of European food law.
Dario Dongo and Andrea Adelmo Della Penna
Footnotes
(1) Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. Latest consolidated text 27.3.21 https://tinyurl.com/2t9kbpnk See Article 15
(2) Dario Dongo, Ylenia Desire and Patti Giammello. Active and intelligent packaging. Rules, state of the art, the ENEA patent. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.7.20
(3) RK Gupta et al. Migration of Chemical Compounds from Packaging Materials into Packaged Foods: Interaction, Mechanism, Assessment, and Regulations. Foods, 2024, 13(19), 3125; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13193125
(4) Mossburger J. & Scherf KA (2024). Gluten migration from biodegradable food contact materials poses a risk to celiac disease patients. European Food Research and Technology 250:2711-2718, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-024-04570-4
(5) The plate did not have a declaration regarding the presence of gluten on the packaging, but it was communicated personally by the manufacturer following an exchange of information by the researchers of the study. In the case of forks and knives, the indication was present only on the website. For straws, the presence of the allergen was declared on the label.
(6) Can biodegradable food packages contaminate gluten free food? AOECS. 25.1.23 https://tinyurl.com/348h4dmc
(7) AOECS. Seminar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dOtEmPeoBc
(8) VEG-PACK: The ethical revolution of packaging https://www.veganok.com/veg-pack/
(9) Dario Dongo, Paolo Rebolini. Kitchenware and food contact materials, test conditions in EU. FT (Food Times). 22.8.23/
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in Food Technologies and Biotechnologies, qualified food technologist, he follows the research and development area. With particular regard to European research projects (in Horizon 2020, PRIMA) where the FARE division of WIISE Srl, a benefit company, participates.
