How to make the use of recycled paperboard fit for food contact? A contribution to the discussion

Recycled paperboard contains hundreds of non-evaluated or even unidentified substances that could endanger human health if they turn out to be highly toxic. It seems as unrealistic to evaluate each of them as it is to phase out the use of the problematic ones or sort out the papers and boards introducing them into the recyclate. Therefore, measures should be taken that generally reduce migration into food, such as functional barriers or functional sorbents. A general approach is used for the recycling of plastics, particularly poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET: as not every potential contaminant can be regulated, a pragmatic approach is applied, for PET mainly on the required decontamination efficiency. Criteria are required on the required efficacy of the measures to be taken. Recycled paperboard is used for various types of food contact: mostly contact is through the gas phase (evaporation and recondensation), often indirect through other layers (e.g. internal bags or for transport boxes), seldom in wetting contact. Numerous factors have to be considered. For typical folding boxes and at least strongly dominating gas phase contact, it was proposed that no more than 1% of each contaminant in the recycled paperboard should enter the food. The efficiency of the measures required to comply with this criterion depends on the application. The three main measures are reviewed with regard to this criterion: (i) internal bags with an incorporated functional barrier (successfully used for some time), (ii) a barrier layer on the internal wall of the box (for which the design of the closures might be most critical) and (iii) functional sorbents added to the paperboard (for which the sorbent capacity is critical). For transport boxes, commonly of corrugated board (quantitatively the most important use of recycled paperboard in food contact), an adjusted or different criterion is needed.