A large number of chemicals of concern are used in food contact materials, and can migrate from those materials into food. Existing regulatory requirements do not adequately address the health hazards of these chemicals, for several reasons. For example, chemicals intentionally used in food contact materials are generally not tested for endocrine disrupting effects.
In this 45-minute EDC Strategies Partnership webinar, Dr. Jane Muncke discussed a new study, “A vision for safer food contact materials: Public health concerns as drivers for improved testing.” The study proposes a concept for improved testing of food contact materials and the chemicals used to make those materials.
The authors outline an approach to testing migration of chemicals out of food contact materials, focusing on the final products such as food containers. This testing protocol would include known and intentionally added chemicals as well as unknown and unintentionally added chemicals.
The authors also offer a detailed vision of an expanded approach to toxicological testing of chemicals used in food contact materials. Existing testing protocols focus primarily on genotoxicity. For the proposed new approach, adverse health outcomes are grouped into Six Clusters of Disease - categories of chronic disease that are increasingly prevalent and that are associated with chemical exposures. The authors flag the need for additional research to identify the most useful in vitro tests corresponding to these disease categories.
The proposed Six Clusters of Disease are: cancers; cardiovascular diseases; brain-related disorders; metabolic and endocrine diseases; immunological disorders; and reproductive disorders. Examples of carcinogens that are relevant for food contact materials include formaldehyde in melamine-formaldehyde plastics and in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics; antimony trioxide used in the manufacture of PET Plastics; and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used in plastic and paper food contact materials.
The approach outlined in this study, if implemented, could provide a means to identify and adopt safer materials for food contact applications as well as supporting safer material choices in other parts of the economy. Ultimately, the goal is to use science for better protection of public health.
This webinar was moderated by Dr. Jerry Heindel of the Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS) program of Environmental Health Sciences.
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