Single-use articles

DC (units of mass of migrant per mass food consumed) for the purpose of estimating exposure for single-use articles is ... 

A protocol is required for each nonclinical laboratory study. Usually a single protocol will cover only one experiment with a single test article in a single type of test system. It is permissible, however, to conduct several experiments using the same test article under a single comprehensive protocol. It is also permissible to study several test articles concurrently using a single common procedure under one protocol. 

In terms of biodegradable polymers, PLA is finding growing use for manufacture of thermoformed articles such as single-use disposable cups and trays, particularly for outdoor events. Starch-based biodegradable polymers can also be thermoformed for production of trays and containers for packaging fresh food and convenience food. 

For repeat-use articles, FDA takes into account information on the uses of articles that may contain the FCS such as the weight of food contacting a known area of a representative repeat-use article, contact time of food with the repeat-use article, and the average lifetime of the article. This allows the calculation of a representative food mass-to-surface area ratio for the use and extrapolation of the representative migrant levels in food over the entire service lifetime of the article. In general, exposure estimates for repeat-use applications are lower than those for single-use, primarily because of the large food mass-to-surface area ratio used in the calculations. 

While we have discussed packaging materials only, the regulations for indirect food additives are written for food contact articles and it is clearly stated that they also apply to food processing equipment. Therefore, plastic food contact surfaces in processing equipment must meet the same requirements as plastic food packages. Migration limits, however, are often different for single-use and multiple-use items. 

This article will concern itself only with devices that involve a chemical or biochemical transduction mechanism to generate the analytical information, with the processes occurring in a membrane or layer attached to the probe in such a manner that the analytical information can be accessed electronically from the outside world. This covers sensors that are for single use and for continuous monitoring because the basic chemistry and sensor configuration used are very similar for a particular application. Hence, the article does not cover techniques such as open-cell Fourier transform infrared or remote fiber spectroscopy, which can be used to sense the chemical nature of the environment without involving the use of a bona fide sensor. 

A number of schemes have been initiated to collect plastics and to reprocess them to useful articles. The most advantageous situation occurs when a source of a single material type can be identified, for example, particular t5q)es of packaging, bottles, or window profiles. Such materials can often be simply reformulated and converted into high quality products. 

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