Overall migration testing – simulant E (Tenax)

Overall migration (OM) into simulant E (Tenax) measures the sum of volatile and semi-volatile compounds that migrate from a food contact material into food via the gas phase.

According to Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, food simulant E is assigned for materials that are intended for contact with dry foods (e.g., salt, dried spices, semolina, sugar) or which can be considered to have a dry surface (e.g. unpeeled fruits, frozen foods). Simulant E can be also used if the tested material absorbs or is otherwise not able to withstand a liquid simulant (e.g. uncoated paper, napkins, tissue paper).

Due to its thermal stability, Tenax is used as a simulant for the overall migration testing of materials intended for high-temperature applications (> 100 °C) if testing with olive oil is not technically feasible. Typical instances include e.g. ovenable paperboard packaging, baking paper, cooking utensils made from polyamide, and ovenable silicone molds.

The test method intended for plastics and paper have been described in standards EN 1186-13 (method B) and EN 14338, respectively. The standard overall migration limit (OML) in either 10 mg/dm2 or 60 mg/kg, depending on the regulation.

Compliance of the results can be evaluated according to various regulations/guidelines; see Table 1 for details.

Table 1. Examples of available safety references for compliance evaluation of the results.