DEVELOPMENT AND INTERLABORATORY ASSESSMENT OF A METHOD TO DETERMINE FATTY CONTACT IN SUPPORT OF EC DIRECTIVES ON MIGRATION FROM FOOD CONTACT PLASTICS

A method has been developed to test if foods make ,,fatty contact'' wi th plastics according to the intention of Directive 85/572/EEC. The me thod employs a polyethylene film containing the fat soluble fluorescen t dye 1,4-diphenyl 1,3-butadiene. The test involves placing the food i n intimate contact with the film under prescribed conditions of time a nd temperature. The degree of fatty contact is assessed by measuring t he amount of dye that has migrated. The method was subjected to an ini tial round-robin study with 7 participants studying four foodstuffs (c heddar cheese, processed cheese, crispbread and chocolate). The within -laboratory variations averaged at 12% (range 9-16%) and between-labor atory variations were 36, 50, 40 and 52% for the four foods respective ly. Since the impregnated film had a 10% variation in thickness, hence dye loading, these results demonstrate that the test can be applied p recisely by individual laboratories but that further definition of the method is required to reduce the between-laboratory variability. The test clearly differentiated between fatty and non-fatty foods. It is i ntended to submit the test for adoption as a CEN standard and prepare further supplies of the impregnated film as a standard material for th e test.