Publications by authors named "I Ebner"

In the EU, any material or article intended to come into contact with food, which is placed on the market, has to comply with the requirements of the Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 - the so called 'framework regulation' for food contact materials (FCM). FCM covers a wide range of materials, including plastics, paper, metal and glass, which contain chemicals that might migrate into food. These chemicals must not migrate into the foodstuff in quantities that could endanger human health, bring about an unacceptable change in the composition of the food, or bring about a deterioration in the organoleptic characteristics thereof.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies have identified food contact materials, like polypropylene infant feeding bottles, as potential sources of microplastics, with one report suggesting over 16 million particles could be released.
  • In this study, only one of the seven bottles examined released detectable microplastics, which were found to be contaminants rather than particles from the actual bottles.
  • The findings suggest that heat can influence the release of additives from the materials, leading to misleading results in microplastic detection, highlighting the need for careful evaluation when heated polymers are involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The release of melamine and formaldehyde from kitchenware made of melamine resins is still a matter of great concern. To investigate the migration and release behavior of the monomers from melamine-based food contact materials into food simulants and food stuffs, cooking spoons were tested under so-called hot plate conditions at 100 °C. Release conditions using the real hot plate conditions with 3% acetic acid were compared with conditions in a conventional migration oven and with a release to deionized water.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In order to investigate the release of aluminium ions from food contact materials, three different types of uncoated aluminium menu trays for single use were tested with the foodstuffs sauerkraut juice, apple sauce and tomato puree, as well as with the food simulants 5 g/L citric acid solution and artificial tap water. To mimic a consumer relevant exposure scenario, the aluminium trays were studied using time and temperature gradients according to the Cook & Chill method, also taking into account storage time at elevated temperatures during the delivery period. The release of aluminium was found to exceed the specific release limit (SRL) of 5 mg aluminium per kilogram of food specified by the Council of Europe by up to six times.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF