Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2023

New strategies for assessing the contamination of recycled paper and board food packaging by carcinogenic substances

Résumé

Introduction and motivation Comprehensive European policies encourage the circular use of food packaging, involving the phasing out of single-use and non-recyclable packaging within short deadlines. While paper and board (P&B) materials offer bio-based and recyclable properties, they are not exempt from contamination by mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH), which are potentially carcinogenic substances. This highlights the need for effective assessment methods. However, existing analytical chromatographic techniques for evaluating the contamination (by MOH) have reached some technical limits, compelling the development of a new strategy. This work, funded by the French National Research Agency as part of the FoodSafeBioPack project (ANR-20-CE21-0009, 2021-2024), aims to evaluate and manage the migration of contaminants from cellulosic materials. Methodologies The contamination of 179 commercial food packaging available on the French market has been assessed using chromatographic techniques. The method covered 50 substances frequently present in P&B packaging and regulated by French law. Concentrations in 13 foodstuffs and their associated packaging were measured to determine migration potential from primary or secondary packaging. Moreover, vibrational spectroscopy and chemical imaging techniques were used as new strategies to evaluate the heterogeneous contamination induced by recycling, printing, and gluing processes. Raman spectroscopy was mainly applied on commercially recycled packaging to assess contamination levels, while reference materials contaminated with surrogate molecules helped describe the mechanisms involved in contamination and migration. Finally, a rapid stacking technique of paper films was employed to evaluate the migration properties of some molecules in these reference materials and infer apparent diffusivities under controlled conditions. Results A high level of contamination has been found in P&B packaging without regard to the presence of recycled fibers. However, within recycled packaging, the high concentrations of mineral oils, varnish monomers, and photo-initiators let us think that cross-contamination by other packaging systems (e.g., plastic components, printing ink, and coating) happened during the recycling process. Microscopic images of recycled commercial packaging demonstrate the heterogeneity of contamination originating from previous fiber use. Raman spectroscopy successfully identified typical contaminants in recycled paper and board packaging. To further examine the heterogeneity of contamination on fibers, reference papers contaminated with surrogate substances were studied. The uneven distribution of molecules was influenced by physical properties such as melting point and the nature of the solvent. Raman imaging was employed to investigate the mass transfer properties of non-volatile molecules. In parallel, the mass transfer of specific molecules through paper was investigated using a solid-solid contact method. This technique, which eliminates the dilution effect while performing diffusion tests, provides a simple and rapid approach to studying diffusivities. Control over sample size and the applied force is necessary to prevent side-diffusion effects and over-estimation of diffusion due to paperboard material compressibility. Significance of the work The highly heterogeneous contamination of FCM will become unmanageable with the upcoming development of a circular economy in the food packaging chain. In this context, chemical imaging is a promising tool for detecting contaminants in paper and board materials. This non-destructive technique can describe the uneven distribution of molecules in recycled materials and help investigate their migration to food. The obtained mass transfer properties under controlled conditions highlight the rapid diffusion when molecules are available on the packaging surface. Studying barrier layers with these methods opens possibilities for developing safer food packaging from recycled paper and board materials.

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Dates et versions

hal-04978156 , version 1 (05-03-2025)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04978156 , version 1

Citer

Lucas Biant, Julien Kermorvant, Belén Fernàndez, Phuong-Mai Nguyen, Murielle Hayert, et al.. New strategies for assessing the contamination of recycled paper and board food packaging by carcinogenic substances. 3rd CIRCUL-A-BILITY CONFERENCE Re-thinking Packaging for Circular & Sustainable Food Supply Chains of the Future, Sep 2023, Madrid, Spain. ⟨hal-04978156⟩
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