From: Packaging News
 
The FPA has criticised a report on food contamination, insisting the study was neither conclusive nor as accurate as media reports suggested.

The body was responding to the news covered by national dailies about possible food contamination.

US-based Silent Spring Institute said some of the paper wrapping and cardboard boxes in which fast food is served in America is coated with a chemical that repels grease, but may consist of persistent synthetic PFASs chemicals which could be harmful when consumed.

While the dailies latched on to the link between these chemicals and the food packaging, Martin Kersh, executive director of the Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA), pointed out that the researchers cautioned that: “It’s really difficult to make that link between what we were finding in the packaging, and how that might affect someone’s health, PFASs are a complex category.”

Kersh added that there are two types of PFASs – long chain which have been phased out and short chain which are newer chemicals, have been reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration and found to be safe.

“Foodservice packaging uses either food safe proven short chain fluorochemicals or newer barrier coatings again proven to be food safe. We therefore wonder that while researchers did indeed find PFASs, they did not dig deeper to identify whether these are long or short chain.

“The popular media has jumped the gun and we have to view this as another example of the media undermining packaging with unsubstantiated stories,” he added.

He added that there still is some packaging that enters the EU by less reputable organisations that does not carry full documentation to prove it is 100% food safe.

“The FPA deplores this packaging and urges the Government to ensure stricter checks at the borders are made. The public can have full confidence that packaging sourced by foodservice retailers and operators from reputable suppliers is completely safe.”