| Abstract: | In order to demonstrate compliance with the overall migration limit given in amended EC Directive 90/128/EEC, overall migration tests are usually performed on the finished food packaging with food stimulants. For packaging converters, in particular, who thermoform a wide range of containers from an extruded sheet, the cost of testing for compliance can be prohibitive. However, the Directive also allows compliance to be demonstrated by use of a ‘more severe test’. In this study a ‘more severe test’ has been developed for PVC and VC/VA co-polymer materials involving extraction with methanol or a methanol/water mixture and evaporation to dryness. This procedure has been optimised so that it is simple and rapid to perform and gives slightly higher results for the extruded sheet compared to overall migration tests conducted with fatty and aqueous food simulants. Results are presented demonstrating the rapid extraction test to be a ‘more severe test’ and that it could be used by converters in conjunction with good manufacturing practice (GMP) to demonstrate compliance with the overall migration limit in a cost-effective way. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
