A Preliminary Study - Chemicals of Concern Used in Packaging Materials in Direct Contact with Food

Winter 2023​ Packaging Column

​Packaging Topic Brief:

  • This work is a preliminary in nature. It is the author's intent to raise awareness of the Chemicals of Concern (CoC) used in Food packaging, fuel more expansive research, and expand dialogue on the topic. Further research can include:
  • Consideration of the balance chemicals (~9,338) excluded from this work.
  • Validation or confirmation of the absence of noted Chemicals of Concern by sampling packaging materials and subsequent converting operations for the chemicals that are considered absent.
  • Analysis around the need to add in Non-Intentionally Added Substances that are generated in package converting processes to the list of Chemicals of Concern.
  • Expand understanding and implications of the reuse and recycling of packaging materials and subsequent exposure to Chemicals of Concern.
  • Empower regulatory bodies to collaborate with industry alliances to eliminate obsolete Chemicals of Concern from packaging materials, safeguarding the food supply 

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This content is related to food packaging, including:

  1. ​Technical specs like A single list of 662 Chemicals of Concern that were potentially used in the food packaging sector was compiled from the Food Packaging Forum, Food Safety Alliance for Packaging (FSAP), Food Contact Chemicals database (FCCdb), and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
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