SafePouch

Pouches made of flexible packaging materials are of enormous economic importance, particularly in the food industry. The pouches are produced in form, fill and seal machines; the longitudinal and transverse seams are usually formed by means of heat contact sealing processes. In this process, the packaging material is heated to at least its melting temperature. This can cause decomposition products to form or volatile substances to be released, some of which escape and some of which remain in the interior of the bag. Particularly when using packaging materials that contain recycled materials, there is a risk that unwanted substances may enter the interior of the bag and possibly be absorbed by the food. For food producers, this can result in the risk that, despite the processed packaging material being approved under food law, it is possible that unwanted substances could be detected in the food.

The aim of the “SafePouch” research project is to assess this risk, to determine whether and in what concentrations substances are trapped in the pouch interior and whether this could impair the quality of the food or, in the worst case, pose a risk to the health of the consumer.

To this end, sample pouches are being produced from standard and recycled packaging materials under defined production conditions and sealing settings. The enclosed air is then analyzed to identify and quantify volatile substances.

From the results, it can be derived for each packaging material whether and under which conditions (storage time, sealing parameters, etc.) an impairment of the packaged product quality is to be expected. This provides a risk assessment from which the necessity of further pursuing the issue can be derived.