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- An overview of hazards and risks in food contact materialsPublication . Poças, M. F.; Hogg, T.
- Consumer exposure to phthalates from paper packaging: an integrated approachPublication . Poças, M.F.; Oliveira, J.C.; Pereira, J.R; Hogg, T.This paper presents an integrated approach to estimate the exposure of the Portuguese population to phthalates as a contaminant originating from paperboard packaging. The approach combined data of migrant concentration in the foods resulting from a stochastic simulation with consumption data of food packaged in paperboard. The results from the exposure model were validated with experimental values actually found in the food. A short surveillance exercise was conducted with samples collection from market shelves to identify and quantify the phthalates present in both the packages and the food. The distribution of values for the di-butyl phthalate concentration in the packages was used as the input of the initial concentration in the Weibull model to estimate the concentration of this phthalate in the foods. This distribution of occurrence data was then combined with the packaging usage data in a probabilistic simulation with a Monte Carlo sampling method. Exposure values ranged between zero and 8.95 mg day 1 kgbw, a value close to the tolerable daily intake established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) – 10 mg day 1 kgbw. However, the 97.5th percentile and the average were 1.82 and 0.44 day 1 kgbw, respectively, indicating that further refinement of the estimates is not necessary. Other phthalates were also detected in the packaging samples: di-isobutyl phthalate and di-ethylhexyl phthalate. The latter was present in all packaging samples collected and was detected in a few food samples at values requiring further investigation.
- Characterization of patterns of food packaging usage in portuguese homesPublication . Poças, M. F. F.; Oliveira, J. C.; Pinto, H. J.; Zacarias, M. E.; Hogg, T.This study aimed to further refine the exposure assessment of migrants from food-contact materials by characterizing, at the household level, food packaging usage (amount and type) in Portuguese urban families. Packages from domestic use were collected from a sample of 105 consumers from 34 households over a 30-day period. Collected packages (more than 6000 items) were characterized in the laboratory and data were used to estimate: (i) global packaging usage and food intake; (ii) the consumption factors (CF) that describe the fraction of the daily diet expected to be in contact with specific packaging materials and (iii) the food-type factors (FTF) that reflect the fraction of all food contacting each material which differ in nature according to six major types: aqueous, acidic, alcoholic, milky, fatty and dry. The daily intake of packaged food and beverages consumed at home ranged from 5–50 g kg 1 bw. Considering all materials, total package usage ranged from 0.1 to 0.6dm2 day 1 kg 1 bw. The ratio between package surface area in contact and the quantity of food was determined for all packaging items collected and an average value of 25 dm2 kg 1 food was recorded. Data were gathered and presented in a manner compatible with current probabilistic approaches to exposure assessment. In this way, relevant consumption patterns from this type of population can be best represented in exposure assessments and subsequent risk assessments.