Overall migration testing – simulant D2e (95% ethanol)

Overall migration (OM) is the sum of all the non-volatile compounds that migrate from the food contact material into the food.

By convention, simulant D2e (95% ethanol) is used to simulate contact with fatty foods in cases where using simulant D2 (olive oil) is not technically feasible. 95% ethanol is also a suitable simulant for materials that are intended for the storage of ethyl alcohol.

In case simulant D2e is used to substitute simulant D2, Regulation (EU) 10/2011 mandates using simulant D2i (isooctane) as well. When the migration temperature exceeds 100 °C, testing overall migration with simulant E (Tenax) is also needed. Tests with simulant D2i and simulant E are not included in the cost of this analysis.

The contact temperature with simulant D2e is not allowed to exceed 60 °C. In addition, the simulant can cause swelling of certain types of polymers (PLA, ABS, PA, PET, HIPS, etc.), resulting in increased migration. Therefore, the migration conditions for this test should be chosen with care.

To comply with Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, the overall migration must not exceed 10 mg/dm2 (or 60 mg/kg).