Professor Stanisław Berger - the jubilee of 100th birthday.

Professor Stanisław Berger - Polish scientist, creator of human nutrition science, international authority, excellent lecturer, and consistent organizer of the nutritional scientific community - celebrates his 100th birthday. He was born on September 13, 1923. The history of Professor Stanisław Berger's long life is presented in this jubilee article.

State Hygiene School as a Department of Education in the National Institute of Hygiene in Warsaw.

The article presents the history of the establishment of the State School of Hygiene (PSH) in Poland after the First World War. The difficulties faced by the public health service in a country destroyed by war and created after the reunification of the lands, which for over 150 years remained under the control of three powers, were pointed out. It discusses how the foundations of modern teaching in the field of public health were created in the National Institute of Hygiene (PZH) in Warsaw, an institution to which the Ministry of Public Health entrusted tasks related to health education in the country.

The 70 year anniversary of the Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny / Annals of the National Institute of Hygiene.

The article presents the genesis of the foundation and development of ‘Roczniki Panstwowego Zakładu Higieny’ [Annals of the National Institute of Hygiene] since 1950 to 2019, scientific peer-reviewed journal devoted to research studies on the food and water safety, nutrition, environmental hygiene, toxicology and health risk assessment, and public health. It also shows the difficulties that this journal had initially to struggle with, and its achievements in recent years, aiming to improve its international position. The article discusses the stages of journal’s development and activity in terms of scientific, editorial and publishing.

[Development of food and nutrition sciences in the 100-year history of the National Institute of Hygiene in Poland].

Issues related to nutrition and food safety in Poland are included in the hundred-year history of the National Institute of Hygiene (PZH), which exists since 1918. The first scientific institution in Poland devoted to nutrition after the First World War was the Department of Biochemistry and Hygiene of Nutrition created in 1923 in the National School of Hygiene operating at the National Institute of Hygiene (PZH), whose director was Dr. Ludwik Rajchman.

Nanomaterials in food contact materials; considerations for risk assessment.

Nanotechnology applications in the food industry, including food contact materials, offer many potential benefits for consumers and manufacturers alike. The article discusses the migration of nanoparticles from food contact materials and the possible health risks associated with in the context of insufficient knowledge of the potential exposure to nanomaterial. The importance of gaps in the general knowledge on the behaviour and biological interactions of nanomaterials in biological systems becomes crucial for risk assessment.

Bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials - new scientific opinion from EFSA regarding public health risk.

The wide use of bisphenol A (BPA) as a monomer in plastics manufacture or epoxy resins intended for food contact materials (FCM) has triggered numerous concerns due to toxicological findings indicating possible endocrine disrupting properties. This article traces the evolution of the scientific opinions since 1986 when the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for BPA and its specific migration limit (SML) from plastic FCM into food were proposed for the first time by the Scientific Committee for Food (SCF). Resent extensive scientific studies concerning refined data on toxicity and exposure to BPA from food and non-food sources (eg.

Endocrine disruptors in food contact materials; is there a health threat?

Food Contact Materials (FCMs) are a major source of endocrine disrupting chemical substances (EDCs), thus forming an important part of human exposure to these compounds, to which this article is addressed. The potential impact of such exposures on endocrine function, and thereby health outcomes, requires scientifically valid evidence so that appropriate risk management decisions can be taken to diminish human exposure, particularly in vulnerable population groups like infants and small children. Relevant aspects of exposure assessment are discussed based on testing migration of EDCs from FCMs, together with the different approaches so used.

[Studies on primary aromatic amines (PAAs) migration from multi-layer plastic food packaging by HPLC method].

The aim of this study was to identify of primary aromatic amines (PAAs) and to determine their migration from plastic food packaging. The magnitude of the migration of these substances from plastic food packaging consists a base for the evaluation of their compliance with the requirements of EU legislation and hazard for human health taking into account their migration into food. The unprinted and printed multi-layer plastic packaging (laminates), domestic and imported, were examined in these studies.

[Hazards for health related to migration of substances from packaging into food].

The release of the substances from food packaging into food triggers the problem for food safety and is the matter of particular interest in the European Commission (EC) and Member States. The problems concerning the presence of these substances in the food which result from their migration from food contact materials, and the EC activities to discover the causes of this phenomenon including an assessment of possible health impact are presented in this article. The risk assessment is provided by the European Food Safety Authority which is obliged to issue a scientific opinion on expected heath effects.

[Role of the EFSA in risk management system regarding food contact materials and articles].

The role of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the risk management system regarding food contact materials and articles is related with the risk assessment of the substances for the European Commission. General rules for the authorisation of substances used in materials and articles intended to contact with food is established in the Regulation (EC) no 1935/2004. For the evaluation of substances their toxicological properties and magnitude of migration into food simulants is taken into account.

[Safety of food contact articles in RASFF system].

Materials and articles intended for contact with food must comply with the requirements set in the Regulation EC No 1935/2007. According to article 3 of this Regulation in normal conditions of use they could not transfer their components into food in the amounts which could endanger human health, cause unacceptable changes in the composition of food or cause a deterioration in the organoleptic characteristics. The Regulation EC No 178/2002 related to the food law provides the legal basis for the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).

[Organoleptic analysis of food packaging].

The basic rules for the organoleptic analysis of food contact materials and food packaging and the criteria of their assessment was presented. According to the EU legislation food contact materials can not release their constituents into the food in quantities that can be harmful for the consumers and/or can change the organoleptic characteristics of food. Conformity of food contact materials and food packaging with the regulation for overall and specific migration and organoleptic characteristics should be shown by their performance in relevant tests.

[Overall migartion testing with alternative fatty food simulants].

Overall migration from commercial samples of food plastics packaging into 95% ethanol and isooctane--the alternative fatty food simulants--was determined. Testing conditions--time and temperature of the contact of food packaging material with food simulants reflected real or predicted use of given packaging. The analytical methods according to European Standard EN 1186 were used.

[Determination of the overall migration of chemicals from the plastic packaging into the aqueous models of food using the EU methods].

Overall migration from food plastic packaging to aquatic food simulants (distilled water, 3% acetic acid) was determined according to the EU methods. Testing conditions (time and temperature) reflected normal use of tested food packaging. The overall migration studies using different food simulants (distilled water, 3% acetic acid) shows that the migration rate was very low, far below the allowed limit (10 mg/dm2).

[Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)--health aspects and food packaging application].

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) due to its physicochemical properties, especially regidity and glass-like transparency is widely used as food packaging material. The relevant legislation states that substances may not migrate from food contacting materials in quantities that may cause undesirable changes in organoleptic properties of food coming into contact with such material. The lists of substances authorized for food contact plastic materials and requirements for the final product were established.

[Substance migration and health quality of packaged food].

According to legislation the producer is responsible for the product. Products placed on the market must be safe and the relevant documentation confirming the conformity of the product with the accepted limits of global and specific migration must be available from the producer. The provisions concerning acceptable migration limits (global and specific), stimulants and testing methods are set by the relevant regulations.