Page 45 - FoodFocusThailand No.173 August 2020

STRONG QC & QA

5) The nature of food Food and packaging implementation standard from the beginning of the production of the packaging, including
materials, there are two factors to consider; the conditions of use, the direct contact or indirect contact with food. Moreover, temperature,
• Incompatibility between packaging acid resistance, alkali resistance, gas resistance, or microwavable, and function barrier of
materials and food: If the type of packaging is the products that are the limitation of the packaging should also be considered to be able
unsuitable for the food type, it may cause an to use the right food packaging. More importantly, enterprises must request important
accelerated migration of chemical substances documents which are the annual analysis of the migration test to confirm the consistency
from the packaging. For example, plastic of the products under relevant laws or other required confirmation documents such as
packaging containing oil and fatty food may document of compliance (DOC) or stage of compliance (SOC).
cause swelling packaging and it will accelerate
the leaching or migrating of a chemical substance
from the packaging to food. Moreover, the
corrosion of uncoated metal when packaged in เอกสารอ้างอิง / References
acidic foods may cause the migration of metal Chemical migration and food contact materials; Edited by Karen A.Barnes, C. Richard Sinclair and
substances into food, and enameled ceramics D.H. waston (page 1-8)
http://foodsan.anamai.moph.go.th/
may contain heavy metal substances. Therefore, http://www.foodpackagingforum.org
choosing the right packaging material for each www.dss.go.th
type of food is essential.
• Solubility: The type of food can be divided
into 5 main groups as follows: acidic food,
aqueous food, alcohol, dry food, fatty oil. The
type of food affects the migration of different
chemical substances.
6) The mobility of a chemical in packaging
The mobility of a chemical substance depends
on size, and shape of molecule. If the chemical
is not compatible with the material then it cloud
bloom to the surface and give enhanced
migration. Moreover, the type of packaging
material has impacted on the migration as
follows: following effects on spreading
• Impermeable material such as glass,
ceramics, metal, alloy – a chemical substance
from outside will not be able to penetrate the
material. Therefore, only the inner coating is at
risk of migration, such as lacquer or compound
inside the can, or coating inside of the ceramic.
• Permeable material such as plastic,
rubber - A chemical substance can migrate or
spread from those permeable materials to food,
which is depending on the structure, density, and
crystallinity of each material.
• Porous material such as paper and
paperboard - low molecular weight substances
can penetrate from the outside of the paper to
the inside easily, compared to the two types of
materials mentioned above.
Summary of factors affecting the
migration of chemical substance from
packaging to food is as follows:
The migration increase with;
• Increase the duration of contact
• Increase the temperature of the contact
• There are highly concentrated chemicals
in the packaging
• The surface area of contact
• Compatibility of food and packaging and
aggressive of foodstuff
The migration decrease with;
• Higher molecular weight substances in
packaging
• Foods that are only dry or indirect contact
• Low diffusivity (inert) packing material
• Presence of a barrier layer
In conclusion, the recommendations for
selecting safe food contact packaging would be
the selection of materials to suit the food, both
quality, and safety. To choose a manufacturer
that has good manufacturing control and obtain
international food safety standards such as GMP,
HACCP, BRCGS, FSSC or other standards of
GSFI, as well as having a truthful and clear

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