Products made from bio-based plastic must undergo the same test procedures as conventional plastic products before being authorised for sale in the EU. If they are to be certified as biodegradable or compostable, they even have to undergo additional tests.
This rules out a health risk for consumers, according to the Industry association European Bioplastics. For plastic products that come into contact with food, the following regulations apply in the EU strict requirements that must be met by both bio-based and conventional plastics. The relevant regulation, Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011, contains in particular requirements for migration checks.
No health risk from bioplastics
The so-called migration limit specifies the maximum permitted quantity of an ingredient for transfer to food. The limit value is used to ensure that food contact material does not pose a health risk to the consumer. In addition to the migration test, the composition of materials consisting of several components is also checked. Only substances and materials that have been assessed as non-hazardous by the EU may be used in their manufacture.
For biodegradable plastics that are certified for industrial composting in accordance with EU standard EN 13432, a defined limit value for heavy metals and other toxic and hazardous substances is specified, among other things. In addition, an ecotoxicity test is carried out on bioplastics in accordance with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This tests Possible effects of industrial compost on plant growth and its toxicological harmlessness to microorganisms.
“Products made from bioplastics therefore undergo even more tests than conventional plastic products. The claim that products made from bio-based plastic contain harmful chemicals is not tenable due to the numerous prescribed tests”, Hasso from Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics (EUBP)
The EUBP Managing Director refers to a study recently published by a group of researchers at the University of Frankfurt. The methodology of the study, in which bioplastic products were subjected to a migration test, was extremely questionable and deviates significantly from the methodology of the EU test procedures. “The resulting test result of the Frankfurt study is also not specific to bioplastics. Rather, the different methodology also leads to the same result when analysing conventional plastic products,” explains von Pogrell.
Source: European Bioplastics e.V.
