The migration from the internal coatings of food cans; summary of the findings and call for more effective regulation of polymers in contact with foods: a review

The analysis of migrates from the internal coatings of food cans showed that the present regulation is not sufficient to ensure safety of food contact polymers. The migrates often consist of complex mixtures of reaction products and impurities, and their harmlessness cannot be deduced from the use of non-toxic starting substances compiled in positive lists. The regulation proposed herein asks producers to analyse the composition of the migrates. It includes an upper limit for the molecular weight (e.g. 1000 Da) and thresholds defining concentrations in the foods down to which components must be identified and evaluated. Primarily considering feasibility at reasonable costs, thresholds of 30 micrograms/kg for individual components and 300 micrograms/kg for the sum of the unidentified materials are proposed. Producers must be able to demonstrate that the individual components or mixtures exceeding this limit, including reaction products with food components, have no toxic effect.