Packaging Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling: analytical control of possible contaminants occurrence

The introduction of recent European PPWR forced the packaging field to find new solutions for eco-sustainable materials and to meet consumer demands towards a transition to a circular economy. The key measures include reuse, reduce and recycle materials. According to the reducing approach, the use of alternative materials to traditional plastic, such as bioplastics and paper is considered an attractive trend. Unlikely, these materials lack of properties and performance which have made plastics so successful and need to be combined with additives and other components to enhance mechanical and barrier properties. Therefore, although they are commonly considered “natural and green”, their safety aspect must be considered. The reuse model for food packaging is actually pursued for plastic waste reduction goals. Some unexpected issues may arise from this choice, affecting both the hygienic and sensory spheres. Besides, repeated sanitisation processes could affect material surface compromising the stability and leading to progressive degradation with potential unsafety risks. The recycling approach includes the recovery of plastics already used and discarded, to obtain a new object. Mechanical recycling may be responsible for the degradation of the polymer and of the common additives employed with the generation of new molecules able to migrate to products. In this context, despite the macroscopic advantages of the described approaches, it is clear that there are potential hazards that need to be examined. In this work, the occurrence of intentionally (IAS) and non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) that could migrate to the products during use and storage, and after processing, has been addressed. Analytical techniques such as HPLC-MS and GC-MS were employed for identification of potential contaminants (Riboni et al., 2023), evaluating different commercial materials also during ageing and after repeated use, or industrial processing. Many analytes have been identified in bioplastic food contact items, and in recycled PET bottles after thermal and industrial processing. Migration studies with simulants were also performed to collect data useful for the evaluation of the related consumer health risk after exposure to potential hazardous compounds. FTIR-ATR was exploited to acquire information about materials’ composition and their modifications occurred during storage, after use and industrial processes. From the results it is evident the need for deeper analytical controls and their optimization.