Chemical contaminants from food contact materials and articles made from or containing wood and bamboo – a review

Abstract

Due to recently introduced ‘so-called’ bio- and plant-based friendly food contact materials and articles (FCM/FCA), some neglected safety issues need to be raised. In this review, potential chemical contaminants from FCM/FCA made from or containing wood and bamboo are presented. Sources, migration, and analytical issues in determining contaminants including intentionally and non-intentionally added substances (IAS and NIAS, respectively) are reviewed. Most of the contaminants are components from melamine-formaldehyde-resin (MFR), paints and coatings, preservatives, and bleaching agents. Tableware made of MFR containing bamboo fibres as a filler are not always suitable for use as tableware since harmful amounts of melamine and formaldehyde can migrate from the tableware into food and even accelerate the degradation of certain polymers with which they are mixed. In addition, in the EU bamboo in plastic FCM is not authorized under Regulation (EU) 10/2011. Paints and coatings used to provide surface coverage for bamboo and wooden articles also pose a risk of migration of heavy metals. Limits on preservatives in wood FCM are covered by legislation in many countries, nevertheless their contamination should not be ignored. Some wood species are considered ‘toxic’ or contain ‘toxic’ constituents that should not be used in contact with food, which are worth considering for legislation. IAS analyses in bamboo and wooden FCM is generally not a problem, but has proven to be more challenging for NIAS. Due to a complex mixture of substances contained in plant-based materials, there is a need to improve databases for non-target screening of such chemicals.

Keywords:

• Food materials and articles
• bamboo
• wood
• chemical contaminants
• migration
• NIAS

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Key R&D Program of China [2018YFC1603205] and the key R&D Program of Guangdong province, China [Grant No. 2019B020212002]. Dr. Wenwen Yu would like to thank the financial support from the Basic and Applied Basic Research Program (Ph.D. Young Scientific and Technological Personnel) [202102020309].