Two thirds (66%) of consumers admit that they are worried about food contamination, as well as the risk of chemicals leaching from food packaging into its content. Eight out of ten consumers surveyed believe these chemical interactions could be a risk to human health.

Commenting on the existing body of scientific research that has examined migration of chemicals from packaging materials, Professor Dieter Schrenk, an expert in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany states: “The issue of transfer of food packaging material-borne compounds into the food is important. Here, plastic polymers, metals and paper/cardboard have been shown in the past to be a relevant source for unwanted chemicals in food. These occur via migration of mostly intentionally added or process-related constituents. Although the risk of exposure towards food contaminated with such compounds is considered as low, more research is needed to clarify this issue scientifically.”

The EU Commission is strengthening legislation related to chemicals which leach out of food packaging.