Compliance testing of food contact materials     EU    FDA      

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Other testing

At European level some additional tests do exist. In this section some examples of these additional tests are given. This list is not complete - many other tests exist.

Organoleptic evaluation

Article 3 of Regulation (EC) 1935/2005 states that the food contact material may not cause an organoleptic change during contact. This must be tested on the final product using the foodstuff that will be in contact with the food, with contact conditions that mimic real life  ones Standardized methods are described in national legislation  in Germany (DIN10955), the Netherlands (packaging and food utensil)  & in method ISO 4120-1983.  The organoleptic test is a very important to avoid customer complaints, but is a very a difficult test to  use. Attention should be paid to the test panel - a good selection of members able to determine differences in flavor and taste after training), test set-up ( test and reference samples  must be filled identically and must be safe to test by the panel) and the test facilities .

Purity & physical parameter specifications

In some cases certain restrictions apply to the ingredients used in production, sometimes in addition to migration limits  - for example minimum viscosity, minimum molecular weight, carbon chain length and purity of the additives used. Examples of some specifications as mentioned in EU Directives are those for:

Polydimethylsiloxane:

• (Mw >6,800); &
•  Minimum viscosity of 100 ×10 –6 m 2 /s (=100 centistokes) at 25 °C.

Waxes, refined, derived from petroleum based or synthetic hydrocarbon feedstock. The product should have the following specifications:

• Content of mineral hydrocarbons with Carbon number less than 25, not more than 5 %(w/w).
• Viscosity not less than 11 ×10 –6 m 2 /s (=11 centistokes) at 100 °C
• Average molecular weight not less than 500.

White mineral oils, paraffinic, derived from petroleum based hydrocarbon feedstock. The product should have the following specifications:

• Content of mineral hydrocarbons with Carbon number less than 25, not more than 5 %(w/w).
• Viscosity not less than 8,5 ×10 –6 m 2 /s (=8,5 centistokes) at 100°C.
• Average molecular weight not less than 480.

Carbon black

• Toluene extractable : maximum 0.1%, determined according to ISO method 6209.

• UV absorption of cyclohexane extract at 386 nm: <0.02 AU for a 1 cm cell or <0.1 AU for a 5 cm cell, determined according to German BfR, BIII, Reinheitsprufung von Rußen, Stand 1.7.1972 .

• Benzo(a)pyrene content: max 0.25 mg/kg Carbon Black

Compliance testing of the end product cannot be performed because the ingredients are not present. The company that has used a material with restrictions has to have data that the materials used do indeed comply with the restrictions as is laid down in the legislation.

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