The suitability of simulants for foodstuffs, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products in migration studies

Abstract

In connection with the control of packaging materials, a radio-tracer technique is being used in migration studies designed to determine the best simulants for the most important foodstuffs and the test conditions of time and temperature most representative of the storage conditions used in practice for any given type of food. Several 14C-labelled plastics additives have been synthesized, incorporated into plastics compounds and compression-moulded into test sheets. These sheets have been stored for various periods in contact with selected food, pharmaceutical, hair-care and cosmetic products, as well as with food simulants proposed by the EEC authorities, at several different temperatures. The amounts of labelled additives migrating from rigid PVC into any of the products were very small. The level of migration from high-density polyethylene was generally much higher, particularly for the relatively small and volatile BHT molecule, but results varied widely with different contact media. In comparative studies with BHT containing HD/PE there was closer agreement of migration levels between the few fat-containing foods and the test fat than with the aqueous food simulants. For most of the pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products appropriate simulants have still to be identified.