Migration of mineral oil from party plates of recycled paperboard into foods: 1. Is recycled paperboard fit for the purpose? 2. Adequate testing procedure

Abstract

Party plates made of recycled paperboard with a polyolefin film on the food contact surface (more often polypropylene than polyethylene) were tested for migration of mineral oil into various foods applying reasonable worst case conditions. The worst case was identified as a slice of fried meat placed onto the plate while hot and allowed to cool for 1 h. As it caused the acceptable daily intake (ADI) specified by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) to be exceeded, it is concluded that recycled paperboard is generally acceptable for party plates only when separated from the food by a functional barrier. Migration data obtained with oil as simulant at 70°C was compared to the migration into foods. A contact time of 30 min was found to reasonably cover the worst case determined in food.

Keywords:

• migration
• packaging paper and board
• recycling
• biscuits
• meat
• mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH)
• mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH)
• polyolefin oligomeric saturated hydrocarbons (POSH)
• testing with foods

Acknowledgements

We thank Karla Pfaff and Oliver Kappenstein from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, for valuable discussions and part of the party plates.