Factors affecting migration kinetics from a generic epoxy-phenolic food can coating system.

This study investigated how the properties of a polymeric can coating film, such as thickness and crosslink density as well as the type of migrant, influence the migration kinetics of model migrants in an attempt to better understand, model and control the migration process. Four model migrants were used BADGE (bisphenol A diglycidyl ether), BADGE·H2O, cyclo-diBADGE and Uvitex OB, that differ in size and polarity. Fatty and aqueous food simulants were used at high temperatures (70-130°C). The apparent diffusion coefficients were found to decrease with increasing crosslink density, while they increased with increasing film thickness. The apparent activation energy of BADGE and BADGE-related compounds was calculated from the diffusion data and were high, in the range of 250-264kJmol-1. The polarity of the simulant and the polarity of the migrant were found to influence migration. The results can be used to improve existing migration models, and thereby help to reduce migration from packaging into food by using safety-by-design approaches in new product development.

Migration of melamine from thermally cured, amino cross-linked can coatings into an aqueous ethanol food simulant: aspects of hydrolysis, relative reactivity and migration.

Aspects of melamine migration from epoxy-based coatings into a food simulant were studied. Four commercial amino-based cross linkers were incorporated into an epoxy anhydride coating system and into an epoxy phenolic coating system. The epoxy-based coatings were formulated, applied, cured and tested for migration by retorting in contact with the food simulant, 10% ethanol, at 131°C. The commercial melamino-based cross linkers used and the model coatings that were prepared using these cross linkers contained very low or non-detectable levels of free melamine. However, during retorting, the migration of melamine from the coatings increased as the retorting time was increased. This migration process is not the more classical diffusional process but rather the result of chemical attack (hydrolysis) of the coating. For these model can coatings, a substantial fraction of the melamino cross linker was hydrolysed although, curiously, the essential functional properties of the coating are retained. In all cases, for these model systems the migration of melamine was rather low because the cross linkers are used commercially in only small amounts - typically 1-2% of the dry film weight of the coatings. For the standard retorting conditions of 1 h, migration of melamine was up to 0.4 mg kg(-1), depending on the cross linker used. The cross linker that contained the methylol functionality (-CH2OH group) gave rise to less melamine than did the alkylated cross linkers (methylated and butylated, -OCHv and -O(CH2)3CH3, respectively). This observation could prove useful in formulating coatings with even lower melamine release characteristics.