PVC CLING FILM IN CONTACT WITH CHEESE - HEALTH-ASPECTS RELATED TO GLOBAL MIGRATION AND SPECIFIC MIGRATION OF DEHA

Following exposure to the food simulant olive oil for 10 days at 5, 20 or 40 degrees C a global migration ranging from 20 to 30 mg/dm(2) was detected from a common 'low migration' PVC film plasticized with a mi xture of di-(ethylhexyl)adipate (DEHA) and a polymeric plasticizer. In a laboratory experiment samples of cheese of the types most commonly consumed in Denmark were wrapped in this 'low migration' PVC film usin g a procedure simulating the actual pattern of use in retail shops. Af ter a storage time of 2 h at 5 degrees C the level of DEHA was 45 mg/k g of cheese, which after 10 days increased to 150 mg DEHA per kg of ch eese, corresponding to an estimated specific migration of 12 mg DEHA/d m(2) of cheese surface. Based on statistics on dietary habits it is co ncluded that the retail packaging of small portions of cheese even in a 'low migration' PVC cling film may lead to consumer intakes of DEHA close to or above the tolerable daily intake of 0.3 mg/kg body weight as defined by the EEC Scientific Committee for Food. Furthermore, it i s stressed that measurements of global migration followed by uncritica l use of reduction factors may result in erroneous evaluation of the s uitability of DEHA-plasticized cling film for the packaging of fatty f oods.