User:Lowa88/Food Packaging Health

Food packaging health refers to the health related aspects of food packaging. As packaging has evolved over the past decades and continuously more substances are added to the packaging material, concerns have emerged about the consequences that such substances have on public health. Both governmental as well as research institutions have made efforts to elucidate these potential health consequences. Substances have been found to migrate into food stuffs contained within to various degrees, and health effects ofthese substances cardiovascular disease, asthma, IQ, obesity and thyroid function have been observed.

Food today is packaged in various materials according to technical requirements throughout the supply chain as well as marketing need. Depending on the need, a variety of materials may be used including but not restricted to plastics, glass, paper, board and rubber. Packaging might be of one single material or a composite of different materials which fulfill different functions. Further, certain substances may be added to food packaging materials (additives), in order to modify their functionality. Food packaging materials are not inert and may leach to varying extend into foodstuffs. This process is called migration. As those components will be ingested together with the food, they may have various health consequences.

Many migration studies have attempted to clarify which substances are likely to migrate into which kind of food stuffs and under which conditions the migration may be amplified. The topic first became of concern when Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) was found at levels exceeding 1mg/kg in canned anchovies and sardines. Migration testing usually works with food simulants, such as ethanol for alcoholic foods, water for aqueous food stuffs and olive oil for fatty food stuffs. This is done in order to increase analytical precision. However, it has to be realised that many real foods will be a combination of oily and watery and and studies on food simulants will not always accurately simulate true migraiton conditions. Consequently, other studies have approached this problem by sampling food stuffs and packaging from supermarkets. As such,a study by Andra et al. investigating bottled waters measured antimony and brominated compounds, associated with polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in their samples. Bottles from PC, PS, PET, and HDPE were analysed. However, the packaging material was not analysed in order to confirm that substances had indeed leached from it. Other researchers have found estrogenic activity in PET water bottles.

Migration studies do however not solve the question of exposure. A study carried out by Rudel et al. found that people eating freshly prepared food indeed had lower levels of urinary Bisphenol A(BPA) and BADGE. Such studies support the hypothesis that certain types of packaging are indeed linked to certain levels of exposure. BADGE is listed as a level 3 carcinogen, and both BADGE and BPA have been found to be endocrine disruptors.