Establishment of a reference collection of additives and an analytical handbook of reference data to support enforcement of EU regulations on food contact plastics

Creation of on-line solutions in support of the dissemination of legislative and analytical information on food-contact materials

To facilitate access to European Commission (EC) documentation and provide a public service resource of relevant information an Internet site dedicated to food-contact materials was created (http://cpf.jrc.it/webpack/) in 1998. The site contains legislative information in downloadable format, information on contacts for authorities and organizations in the field of food-contact materials, as well as information on methods for overall and specific migration. A satellite site (http://cpf.jrc.it/smt/) is dedicated to physicochemical and spectral information (FT-IR, GC-MS, NMR) as well as analytical methods on an increasing number of regulated substances. Many of these, as well as substances submitted for evaluation, are held in a centralized databank at the JRC in Ispra and aliquots can be made available to the public upon request. The site also recently expanded to provide an incentive for analytical networking between institutions by including information pages on current EC-funded and national projects and conference announcements.

An Internet compendium of analytical methods and spectroscopic information for monomers and additives used in food packaging plastics

An internet website (http:¿cpf.jrc.it/smt/) has been produced as a means of dissemination of methods of analysis and supporting spectroscopic information on monomers and additives used for food contact materials (principally packaging). The site which is aimed primarily at assisting food control laboratories in the European Union contains analytical information on monomers, starting substances and additives used in the manufacture of plastics materials. A searchable index is provided giving PM and CAS numbers for each of 255 substances. For each substance a data sheet gives regulatory information, chemical structures, physico-chemical information and background information on the use of the substance in particular plastics, and the food packaging applications. For monomers and starting substances (155 compounds) the infra-red and mass spectra are provided, and for additives (100 compounds); additionally proton NMR are available for about 50% of the entries. Where analytical methods have been developed for determining these substances as residual amounts in plastics or as trace amounts in food simulants these methods are also on the website. All information is provided in portable document file (PDF) format which means that high quality copies can be readily printed, using freely available Adobe Acrobat Reader software. The website will in future be maintained and up-dated by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) as new substances are authorized for use by the European Commission (DG-ENTR formerly DGIII). Where analytical laboratories (food control or other) require reference substances these can be obtained free-of-charge from a reference collection housed at the JRC and maintained in conjunction with this website compendium.

European priorities for research to support legislation in the area of food contact materials and articles

A strong science base is required to underpin the planning and decision-making process involved in determining future European community legislation on materials and articles in contact with food. Significant progress has been made in the past 5 years in European funded work in this area, with many developments contributing to a much better understanding of the migration process, and better and simpler approaches to food control. In this paper this progress is reviewed against previously identified work-areas (identified in 1994) and conclusions are reached about future requirements for R&D to support legislation on food contact materials and articles over the next 5 or so years.