Investigation of migrating substances from textile used as food contact material

With the polarized debate about paper and board packaging materials, food contact materials (FCM) made from fabrics/textiles has gain importance on the market. This trend is expected to rise with the prohibition of the Walloon and Brussels-Capital Region for single use plastic bags. In this context, the aim of the research was to evaluate the safety of these “new” food fabrics. A simple ultra-sound assisted extraction of substances from the fabrics was done with acetonitrile to avoid any compound losses. Both a GC-MS full scan screening method and targeted quantitative assays were used to determine the levels of substances migrating from food fabrics. These protocols were carried out for 43 food fabrics carefully selected on the Belgian market. Well known food contaminants such as butylated hydroxy toluene, phthalates and photo-initiators were detected, but at very low levels. On the contrary, one bread bag sample contained higher amounts of bisphenol A. It is well characterized that the migration of contaminants from food contact materials in foodstuffs is challenging due to the complexity and large variety of foodstuffs. To overcome this issue, migration experiments were carried out using food simulants. Consequently, the bread bag was brought into contact with the simulants for bread using accelerated time and temperature conditions to simulate migration. Analysis of the simulants afterwards showed no significant migration for Bisphenol A. Although this particular bread bag contains Bisphenol A, the migration thereof is limited and the article is considered to be food safe. In conclusion, 43 food fabrics surveyed on the Belgian market were investigated for the migration of possible contaminants towards foodstuffs. Different compounds were detected but measured levels are very low and do not trigger safety concerns.