TEST METHODS TO SIMULATE HIGH-TEMPERATURE EXPOSURE

A study was carried out to compare the actual overall migration from p ackaging materials into food simulants during heating in a microwave o ven, and the overall migration from these materials into food simulant s applying time and temperature conditions stipulated in the current E C and Dutch legislation on food packaging. It was demonstrated that th e requirement by some food packaging regulations to conduct migration tests in a conventional oven using test conditions that are more strin gent than the conditions occurring in practice results in excessively severe and unreasonable test conditions. On the basis of the results o btained additional test conditions (e.g. 30 min and 1 h in combination with test temperatures exceeding 121-degrees-C, and a test temperatur e of 130-degrees-C) are proposed to be inserted in existing food packa ging regulations to enable realistic migration testing of microwave pa ckaging materials under conventional test conditions. It is concluded that the overall migration behaviour of packaging materials intended f or microwave oven use, including microwave-active (susceptor) material s, can be judged on the basis of migration testing using conventional heating. The suitability of iso-octane as a volatile fatty food simula nt for the determination of the overall migration under high-temperatu re test conditions was also investigated. For most samples investigate d a good agreement was observed between the overall migration values o btained with olive oil applying both microwave and conventional heatin g, and those obtained with iso-octane under conventional conditions.