A Hansen Solubility Parameter Study on the Suitability of EU Food Simulants for Migration Testing*

Eliana Agolli¹, Chilal Ali Moustafa¹, Anna Almpani¹, Charikleia Anagnostopoulou¹, Maria-Anna Aslanidou¹, Alexandra Bapka¹, Eirini Chaziri¹, Apostolos Cvetkovic¹, Eleftheria Dalkalitsi¹, Danai-Christina Dekaltsidou¹, Anastasia Diamantopoulou¹, Krisa Dragoti¹, Konstantina Foura¹, Stavroula Goltsiou¹, Polyxeni Hatziioannou¹, Dimitra Ilia¹, Styliani Kaloudi¹, Chris Karaoulanis¹, Argiro Karetsa¹, Panagiota P. Katsikari¹, Tzeni Katsomitrou¹, Anastasia Kechagia¹, Grigoris Kehagioglou¹, Aikaterini Kikidou¹, Ioannis Kizas¹, Konstantina Konstantopoulou¹, Foteini Kosti¹, Alexandros Kretou¹, Dimitra Leka¹, Martha-Christina Maniati¹, Panagiota Mastromichali¹, Christos T. Michailidis¹, Paschalina Mitrakou¹, Ioanna Moutaftsi¹, Karmen Nanakou¹, Dafni Nikolaidou¹, Thomai-Iro Panagiou¹, Adriana Papadaki¹, Sofia N. Papanikolaou¹, Georgia Papavasileiou¹, Michael C. Papavasileiou¹, Chrysoula Perifanopoulou¹, Eirini Petimezaki¹, Stavroula Politi¹, Chrysi-Elpida Romanidou¹, Anastasia Sakali¹, Anna Samara¹, Evangelos Savvoulidis¹, Eleni T. Sidiropoulou¹, Eftychia Sofieli¹, Fani Stampouli¹, Rafailia Tamilia¹, Panagiota Toliopoulou¹, Panagiota Touna¹, Foteini Tourtoura¹, Marianta Tsapai¹, Maria Valouktsi¹, Anastasia Velitzanidou¹, Nefeli-Iounia Viadi¹, Despoina Voulgari¹, Dimitrios Zaltos¹, Eftychia G. Karageorgou¹ and Costas Tsioptsias ^1,**

¹           Department of Food Science and Technology, Alexandrian University Campus at Sindos, International Hellenic University, 57400, Thessaloniki, Greece

* This work resulted from a project within the framework of the fourth-year course “Food Contaminants” of the Department of Food Science and Technology of the International Hellenic University

**        Correspondence: ktsiopts@ihu.gr (C.T.)

DOI: 10.62579/JAGC0019

Abstract

A major issue of food packaging materials is the migration into food. In the regulation of European Commission regarding polymeric materials intended to be in contact with foodstuff, some food simulants to test migration from plastic materials are proposed and although not clearly stated, the concept is actually based on the old rule of Chemistry that “similia similibus solvuntur” (like dissolves like). The Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSP) are based on the same principle for predicting the thermodynamic affinity/solubility between substances. Here, the reliability of the food simulants (vegetable oil and various aqueous mixtures with ethanol or acetic acid) of the EU regulation was examined based on HSP. A simple strategy was developed and the apparent HSP of 15 different foods, 3 for each of the 5 simulants, was estimated from the nutritional value statement and by treating foods as mixtures. The HSP of the simulants were also calculated. From around 900 potential migrants (permissible monomers and additives mentioned in the regulation), we were able to retrieve the HSP of 294 representative migrants. Thousands of calculations were performed and the Relative Energy Difference (RED) of food-simulant, food-migrant and simulant-migrant were calculated for a range of values of interaction radius (R_o). Experimental confirmation of selected predictions was also provided, through the determination of the apparent HSP values of a complex food (mayonnaise). Similar conclusions were obtained from both the theoretical and experimental approaches. Overall, two of the five showed limited suitability for several of the complex foods examined in this study and may lead to underestimation of migration risk under specific conditions.

Keywords: food simulants; migration; Hansen Solubility Parameters; food contact materials; food safety assessment; European Regulation

A Hansen Solubility Parameter Study on the Suitability of EU Food Simulants for Migration Testing