Plastic Food Contact Material Testing

Migration Analysis is the test performed to determine whether chemical substances migrate from food contact plastic materials (such as plastic bottles, packaging films, lids, food containers, etc.) into food, and if so, in what quantity. The purpose is to ensure that these migrations remain at levels that do not pose a risk to human health.

Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 and Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 (the Framework Regulation on food contact materials) establish specific migration limits (SMLs) and overall migration limits (OMLs) for substances that may migrate from plastic materials into food. In Türkiye, these requirements are aligned with the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Food Contact Materials and Articles.

Overall migration analysis measures the total amount of substances that may migrate from plastic into food.

The sample is brought into contact with food simulants (such as ethanol, acetic acid, and isooctane) under specified time and temperature conditions.

The food simulant is selected according to the type of food with which the material is intended to come into contact:

• Aqueous foods → Purified water
• Acidic foods → 3% Acetic acid
• Fatty foods → Isooctane / Ethanol
• Alcoholic foods → Ethanol (10–95%)