Navigating Food Contact Chemicals

A study published in Environmental Science & Technology introduces a systematic framework designed to bring clarity to the thousands of Food Contact Chemicals (FCCs) present in food packaging. Developed by researchers at the Food Packaging Forum, ETH Zürich, and Masaryk University, the research tackles the growing complexity of chemical management by shifting away from slow, chemical-by-chemical evaluations toward automated structural grouping and hazard-based prioritization.

For decades, regulatory bodies and packaging managers across the food industry have relied heavily on substance-by-substance safety evaluations. However, with over fifteen thousand known food contact chemicals—ranging from intentionally added polymers and additives to non-intentionally added substances like degradation products and impurities—evaluating each substance individually has become unmanageable. This traditional approach frequently results in regrettable substitutions, where a restricted hazardous substance is replaced by a structurally similar compound that later turns out to pose identical risks, such as replacing Bisphenol A with Bisphenol S. By grouping structurally related chemicals together, researchers and regulators can now better anticipate toxicity, streamline risk assessments, avoid unsafe replacements, and safeguard consumers while providing operational certainty for manufacturers.

To structure this vast chemical landscape, the research team integrated two comprehensive databases to map out the known chemical universe. Using UN-aligned hazard criteria, the authors established the FCCprio list, identifying over twelve hundred chemicals of high concern due to potential links to carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption, or extreme environmental persistence. To reflect real-world exposure, these priority substances were ranked into four distinct tiers ranging from confirmed migration into food alongside human biomonitoring detection down to authorized chemicals lacking empirical migration data. Furthermore, the study established thirty-eight key structural groups containing a high concentration of hazardous members, including widely known compounds like phthalates and PFAS, alongside organophosphates and primary aromatic amines. Crucially, thousands of chemicals fall into these priority groups and share structural features with known toxic compounds, yet the vast majority currently lack adequate hazard data, representing a major blind spot for the packaging supply chain.

As global food safety regulations evolve, the food processing and packaging sectors must adapt proactively. Industry players can now utilize open-source tools—such as the newly released FCCgroup interactive app—to screen chemical inventories during early product design and identify structural risks before they trigger regulatory delays.. Moving forward, safety protocols are shifting toward bio-testing finished packaging articles to account for complex chemical mixtures and non-intentionally added substances. Greater supply chain transparency will remain essential, requiring processors and brand owners to collaborate closely with suppliers to ensure that alternative materials rely on inert, well-characterized substances rather than data-poor chemical substitutes.

Source : Phys.org/ Environmental Science & Technology

Helene Wiesinger et al, Prioritizing and Grouping Food Contact Chemicals: From Chaos to Clarity, Environmental Science & Technology (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c15186