PFAS: A package deal

Welcome to the 2022 Detection and Quantification of PFAS in Air, Water, Soil, and Food Packaging e-learning series.

In the third event of our three-part eSeminar series, a leading expert in PFAS analysis will discuss a variety of topics around PFAS in food packaging materials, including method development and sample preparation.

A non-intentionally added substance or NIAS, in packaging is an issue of growing concern. First mentioned in EU Regulation 10/2011, predictable and unpredictable NIAS, in the form of degradation products and impurities, were found not only in plastic but also in paper and in newly developed materials, such as recycled and biobased packaging.

In the case of recycled materials, there is a new type of NIAS, which comes from recycling cycles: an accumulation of different mixture of chemicals might occur when materials are recycled many times. The prediction, identification and control of NIAS in recycled materials is therefore challenging because of the difficulty tracing their origin.

Due to the complex identification of the contamination pathway, chemicals like PFAS can be considered to be both intentionally and non-intentionally added. Some PFAS molecules are included for use and find market applications in food contact materials due to their grease- and water-proof properties. In this case they are intentionally added. This is frequent in paper packaging; and when this also has a recycled content, PFAS can be present as NIAS, originating from the intentionally added PFAS in the recycled paper fibres, or from inks, for example.

Environmental contamination should also not be ignored, where PFAS can be introduced in paper packaging from water used during the recycling or manufacturing process or from the atmosphere.

Distinguishing between these sources is important: new instrumental technologies and approaches are needed, not only for analytical efficiency and for performance, but also to open up the identification and quantification of what is predictable and what is not.

Presenter: Andrea Vittadello (Project Manager-Sustainability, Mérieux NutriSciences Food Science Center)

Andrea Vittadello co-ordinates the group of Project Managers in Mérieux NutriSciences Food Science Center and is himself Project Manager for the Sustainability area. He has been part of this laboratory since 2002 and has been involved almost immediately in biodegradability studies. He is a member of the European Bioplastics Technical Committee and the BPI Committee on Standards and Procedures. He is also currently Convenor at two CEN groups for Specific and Global Migrations, and of a UNI committee on Food Contact Materials.