Food contact materials (safety)

In modern industrialised societies, all foodstuffs have direct contact with a wide range of materials and articles while in transit from primary production to final consumption. Piping, conveyor belts and containers are important in the production process, packaging materials are obligatory for storage of food, and kitchen and tableware are used in the consumers' home.

Food contact materials are produced from several thousand different chemicals. It is important that these substances do not migrate into food in amounts that could endanger human health.

The National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark conducts research in food contact materials to continuously investigate and assess potential risks related to migration and human exposure to specific chemicals from various existing and new materials.

For this purpose the Institute develops and validates suitable migration tests, chemical analytical techniques and various toxicological tests for examining migration of the substances, endocrine activity and other potentially harmful effects.

For the National Food Institute, insight into problems related to production and use of the materials are prerequisites for offering research-based advice to Danish authorities such as the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and international organisations such as European Food Safety Authority, EFSA. 

The current EU legislation on food contact materials is continuously developed based on results from national surveys, control and research projects to protect human health, in relation to which the research and public sector consultancy provided by the National Food Institute also plays a role. 

Collaborations

The National Food Institute actively participates in the European network of Food Contact Materials-reference laboratories.

National Food Institute is the national reference laboratory on in Denmark.

The European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, is another key institution in this field and the institute is represented in the "Panel for food contact materials, enzymes, flavourings and processing aids" (CEF) and one of their Food Contact Materials working groups.

The National Food Institute also takes part in various working groups concerning Food Contact Materials in EU DG Sanco.

In several projects the institute collaborates with the food industry, packaging and printing industry as well as other universities and governmental authorities.