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Abstract
This study carried out migration investigations with different spiked and non-spiked paper and board packaging materials in contact with foodstuffs and food simulants in the temperature range between −18°C and 40°C. The aim was to deepen the understanding of the migration behaviour of target substances in paper and board fibres. Components and contaminants of paper and board with different molecular weight and chemical structure were selected as target migrants. From the kinetic migration studies, diffusion and partition coefficients were derived by using software for modelling migration in multilayer materials. On the basis of these results, for the first time a model for the migration from paper and board into foods and simulants was developed by adapting the validated diffusion model for plastics. In contrast to the migration in plastic materials, where the migrants are solved and homogeneously distributed in the polymer matrix, mass transfer in paper and board is a more complex phenomenon, because the migrants can be adsorbed on the cellulose surface with different strength. The most important finding of the study was that for a correct modelling of the experimental results in many cases paper and board must be regarded as a two-layer system: the main mass of paper and board (B1) defines the core layer with high diffusion rates, and a thin second layer (B2) represents the surface region of the paper and board with decreased diffusion rates due to the slow desorption.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of this work by the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI). The findings and conclusions in this paper are the responsibility of the authors alone and should not be taken to represent the opinion of CEPI.