A food-contact chemical is a chemical substance associated with a material, coating, ink, adhesive, or other product that comes into contact with food and may potentially migrate into the food.
The term can encompass substances deliberately added to food-contact materials as well as chemicals that arise during manufacturing, processing, degradation, or other stages of a material’s life. This includes impurities, reaction products, degradation products, or other constituents. Some may remain within the material, while others may migrate into food.
Because the term is broad, identifying a “food-contact chemical” is not equivalent to identifying a harmful chemical. Also, “Food-contact chemical” is useful as a plain-language term, but it is broader and less precisely defined than regulatory terms such as food-contact substance.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Food-contact substance: a more specific regulatory/technical term for substances used in food-contact applications that may become components of food.
- Chemical migration: the process by which a substance moves from a material into food.
SEE ALSO
