In short
Food comes into contact with many materials and articles during its production, processing, storage, preparation and serving. Such materials and articles are called Food Contact Materials (FCM). Certain substances, present in FCM, can migrate towards the food and cause potential adverse health effects. Sciensano has developed a database containing substances that could be used for the manufacturing of FCM. This database is helpful to investigate the potential risks related to the migration of substances from FCM.
Project description
Currently, the database of substances known by the Member States of the Council of Europe and used in food contact materials contains approximately 10.000 substances linked to different materials like plastics, cardboard, inks, silicones, … This database consists of a compilation of lists of known substances that are or were used in FCM. It is based on national legislations, regulations and directives of the European Commission or resolutions of the Council of Europe. It is an exhaustive database containing all the listed substances and the references to the existing regulation. Additionally, information on the potential mutagenicity was added based on in silico tools (e.g. Derek Nexus®, VEGA) together with information on endocrine disrupting properties. The aim of the database is to support risk assessment for many stakeholders including the government, industry and other scientific institutions.
