Recycling
of Plastics for Food Contact Use
As more packaging options are proposed for food and beverage products,
the opportunities to reuse materials, especially plastics, for these
purposes are growing as well. The quality and safety aspects of recycling
technologies thus need to be carefully examined for the major polymer
types. Plastics recycling technology for food purposes clearly must
remove potential chemical contaminants to an acceptable level of safety
that addresses public health concerns. With this in mind, the ILSI
Europe Packaging Material Task Force convened a workshop in London
(UK) in March 1997 to examine the scientific database on the safe
recycling of plastics for food contact use. The discussions of the
experts participating in the workshop and subsequent meetings to produce
guidelines and recommendations on the subject appear in a new publication
in the ILSI Europe Report Series. It covers recycling operations,
feedstock for recycling, challenge tests and surrogates, as well as
migration test conditions and limits.
All ILSI Europe publications are available upon written request (E-mail:
[email protected]).
Functional
Food Science in Europe
In response to concerns from the scientific community worldwide
about recent developments in the understanding of the functional food
concept, ILSI Europe elaborated, in 1995, a project proposal for a
European Commission Concerted Action aimed at establishing a science-based
approach for the concept. The goal of this concerted action was to
establish a multidisciplinary European network to (1) critically assess
the science base required to provide evidence that specific nutrients
positively affect physiological functions, (2) examine the available
science from a function-driven rather than a nutrient-driven point
of view, and (3) reach a consensus on targeted modifications of food
and food constituents and options for their application.
To attain these objectives, a First Plenary Meeting was organized
in 1996 in Nice (France) to assess the state of the science. Based
on the results of this meeting, six areas in human physiology were
identified: development, growth, and differentiation; substrate metabolism
(including metabolic aspects of physical activity); defense against
reactive oxidative species; cardiovascular system; gastrointestinal
physiology and functions; and behavioral and psychological functions.
Individual Theme Groups (ITGs) composed of industry and nonindustry
scientists were established to produce theme papers that would critically
review the science base of the functional food concept in each area.
The exercise focused on characterizing specific body systems, assessing
methodologies, identifying nutritional options to modulate functions,
evaluating potential safety implications, examining the role of technology,
critically assessing the required science base, and suggesting areas
where further research is needed. The resulting documents were scrutinized
in a Second Plenary Meeting in 1997, in Helsinki (Finland), and have
now been published as a supplement to the British Journal of Nutrition.
All ILSI Europe publications are available upon written request (E-mail:
[email protected]).
Food Safety Management Tools
Throughout the world, food manufacturing, distribution, and retailing
is becoming a highly complex business. Raw materials are traded on
a global scale, an ever-increasing number of processing technologies
are used, and a vast array of products are available to the consumer.
Such a complexity necessitates the development of comprehensive control
procedures to ensure the production of safe, high-quality food.
Despite progress in medicine, food science, and the technology of
food production, illness caused by foodborne pathogens continues to
present a major problem of both health and economic significance.
A new report describes several tools to use in an integrated approach
to the management of food safety, such as elements of Good Manufacturing
Practice (GMP), the importance of applying HACCP (Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point) within a GMP framework, and a quality management
system as a means of effectively managing total product quality. Although
the primary focus of this report is microbiological issues, the general
principles addressed are applicable to the management of chemical
and physical contaminants as well.
This publication, in the ILSI Europe Report Series, was undertaken
under the auspices of the ILSI Europe Risk Analysis in Microbiology
Task Force.
All ILSI Europe publications are available upon written request (E-mail:
[email protected]).
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