Materials for Food Contact Our immigration test includes general and private immigration tests on food packaging, kitchenware and food processing machines
In the field of food contact materials, migration limits have been established for many substances based on the toxicological risk assessment of these substances. These limits are included in Food Contact regulations to control exposure to these substances to protect our health.
Migration is the transfer of chemicals from food contact materials to food. The EU Regulation 10 / 2011 sets two types of migration limits for plastics.
General Migration
General The transition limit (OML) applies to the sum of all substances that can switch from food contact material to food (or food stimulant). The general migration limit is a measure of the ineffectiveness of the material.
Specific Migration
A specific transition limit (SML) is applied to an independent substance and is based on toxicological studies. Analytical techniques are used to identify the presence of these substances in food (and food simulations).
Food simulations have been assigned to perform migration simulations to demonstrate compliance with migration limits. To obtain comparable results in verifying compliance with transition limits, testing should be carried out under standard test conditions, including test time, temperature, and the test environment (food simulation), which represents the worst-described conditions for the plastics or articles.
(EU) No. 10 / 2011 offers separate rules for test conditions for d, OML and SML tests.
The analytical and technical description of the transitional tests are set out in the following EN standards:
• Part of the EN1186 standards describes the test procedure for general migration testing.
• Some of the EN13130 standards define the general testing procedure for specific migration tests, including analytical measurement of the approximate 26 substance.
It should be noted that the rules laid down in the EU Regulation 10 / 2011 supersede the rules set out in the EN standards issued in 2002.
Migration testing is usually required to demonstrate compliance of a food contact material with the applicable legislation.

• Product specifications of all packaging materials will be available
• All packaging materials must be available in conformity with the product food grade (according to legislation).
• Migration tests for packaging materials should be available. This may be more than a specific test for simulating agents or in special cases (for example, if the packaging material has changed), for contamination and interaction with the packaged product (migration test)
• The effects of packaging materials on products should be tested. Tests include the effects of packaging materials on product taste, odor, preservation and other factors.

The immigration test rules for materials in contact with plastic food are clearly specified in the EU 10 / 2011 Commission Regulation.
For many other materials, such as paper and cardboard, metals, rubbers or the passage of printing inks through substrates, the rules for migration testing are set out in national regulations or industry guidelines.
EUROLAB can support the industry in creating a low-cost migration test program for articles and materials that come in contact with many foods. EUROLAB has a wide range of analytical techniques for very low-level analysis, such as gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, elemental analyzes, and more. When there is no specific method, Intertek experts can develop an analytical method.
Contact us to discuss your special needs and expectations with our experts on Food Contact Materials.