Czech J. Food Sci., 2015, 33(4):308-312 | DOI: 10.17221/645/2014-CJFS

Microbial contamination of paper-based food contact materials with different contents of recycled fiberFood Microbiology and Safety

Zuzana Hladíková¹, Kristina Kejlová¹, Jitka Sosnovcová¹, Dagmar Jírová¹, Adam Vavrouš¹, Stanislav Janoušek¹, Milada Syčová², Vladimír Špelina¹

¹ National Institute of Public Health, Centre of Toxicology and Health Safety, Prague, Czech Republic

² Regional Public Health Authority in Poprad, National Reference Centre and Laboratory for material and articles intended to come into contact with food, Poprad, Slovak Republic

Recycled paper is commonly used in food packaging industry, especially for disposable products. The material coming into direct contact with food products must not represent a source of contamination for food in accordance with the Framework Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 containing the general requirements on all food contact materials. In the present study, the microbial purity of 31 paper-based materials with different contents of recycled matter (0-100%) was evaluated using a standard method based on the disintegration of paper. The results of the present study indicate the existing relation between the use of recycled fibers and the content of microorganisms. The increased amount of recycled fibers significantly increased the amount of bacteria in the paper samples. The highest content of microorganisms was observed in the case of paper with the highest recycled fiber content. Total counts of bacteria ranged from 5.0 × 10¹ to 1.2 × 10⁵ CFU/g. Moulds were detected only in three paper samples. As the microorganisms present in food packaging may penetrate into foodstuffs (particularly those with high contents of water or fat) and have an adverse effect on end-consumers' health, microbial criteria for food packaging should be included into the EU legislation.

Keywords: bacteria; disposable materials; health safety; microbial purity; recycled paper

Published: August 31, 2015  Show citation