Polymeric Food Additives

Specifications and Standards Test Methods. Hydroxyethylcellulose is included in the Hst of materials that are in compHance with requirements of the U.S. EDA for use in adhesives and in resinous and polymeric coatings employed on the food-contact surfaces of metal, paper, or paperboard articles, and other substrates intended for use in food packaging as specified in CER 21. HEC made dispersible by cross-linking with glyoxal is cleared only as an adhesive and as a component of paper and paperboard in contact with food. It has not been cleared as a direct food additive. 

Figure 4.21 High-performance size-exclusion chromatograms of the polymeric plasticiser Reoplex R346 using (a) RI and (b) UV detection. After Castle et al. [792]. Reproduced from L. Castle et al., Food Addit. Contain., 8, 565-576 (1991), by permission of Taylor Francis Ltd (http //www.tandf.co.uk/journals)...

Nonintentional food additives, 12 29 Noninteracting solvents, 23 99 Nonionic emulsifiers, in VDC emulsion polymerization, 25 722-723 Nonionic functional groups, in polymer colloids, 20 384... 

Generally, a distinction can be made between membrane bioreactors based on cells performing a desired conversion and processes based on enzymes. In ceU-based processes, bacteria, plant and mammalian cells are used for the production of (fine) chemicals, pharmaceuticals and food additives or for the treatment of waste streams. Enzyme-based membrane bioreactors are typically used for the degradation of natural polymeric materials Hke starch, cellulose or proteins or for the resolution of optically active components in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, food and chemical industry [50, 51]. In general, only ultrafiltration (UF) or microfiltration (MF)-based processes have been reported and little is known on the application of reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF) in membrane bioreactors. Additionally, membrane contactor systems have been developed, based on micro-porous polyolefin or teflon membranes [52-55]. 

FDA. 2001e. Indirect food additives. Resinous and polymeric coatings. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cocfe ofFederal Regulations. 21 CFR 175.300(b)(3). http //frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/. December 10, 2001. 

Till D, Schwope A, Ehnthold D, Sidman K, Whelan R, Schwartz P and Reid R. 1987, Indirect food additive migration from polymeric food packaging materials. CRC Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 18 (3). 161-188. 

Castle, L., Mercer, A.J., Gilbert, J., 1988, Migration from plasticized films into foods. 4. Use of polymeric plasticizers and lower levels of di-(2-ethylhexyl)adipate plasticizer in PVC films to reduce migration into foods. Food Additives and Contaminants 5 (3) 277-282. 

Another important aspect of the safety assessment is the evaluation of constituents of food additives, which include impurities and byproducts, as well as the low molecular weight oligomeric fraction of polymeric substances. For example, the safety evaluation for every FCN encompasses all components that would be expected to migrate to food, including the FCS, the food additive, and constituents of the food additive. This assessment is complex and the lack of proper evaluation and supporting documentation on all substances is the most common deficiency. 

CASTLE L., MERCER, A. J. and GILBERT, J., 1991, Migration from plasticized films into foods. 5. Identification of individual species in a polymeric plasticizer and their migration to food. Food Additives and Contaminants, 8, 565-576. 

Use of plant parts (bark, leaves, seeds, etc.) and their extracts to preserve food from developing a rancid taste is a practice that has continued since prehistoric time. There is evidence that even for the industrial materials, plant-based components were used as antidrying agents to prevent oxidation and polymerization of polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich plant oils (2, 5, 48). During the past two decades, intensive research has been carried out on naturally occurring antioxidative compounds from different sources. The main drive behind this search was to reduce the use of synthetic compounds as food additives because of their potential negative health effects and as a result of consumer demand. 

FDA approved 1998 for the manufacture of resinous/polymeric coatings in safe contact with food for articles for use in all stages of production, processing, packaging and transport of food, 21CFR175.300. Joint FAO/WHO committee on Food Additives recommended an ADI of 3.0 mg/kg BW. Inventories AICS (Australia) DSL (Canada) ECL (Korea) EINECS (Europe) ENCS (Japan) List I (China) PICCS (Philippines) TSCA (USA). 

Use Textiles, manufacture rayon, rubber, fertilizers, refrigeration, condensation polymerization, photography (development of latent images), pharmaceuticals, ammonia soaps, lubricants, fireproofing wood, ink manufacture, explosives, ceramics, ammonium compounds, saponifying fats and oils, organic synthesis, detergents, food additives, household cleanser. 

In the USA, the amides are allowed as an indirect food additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various applications including resinous and polymeric coatings, components of paper and paperboard in contact with aqueous and fatty foods and components of paper and paperboard in contact with dry food (21 CFR 175.3(X) 21 CFR 176.170 and CFR 176.180). 

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