In an article published on October 18, 2024, in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, I. Van Overmeire from Sciensano Brussels, Belgium, and co-authors introduce their newly developed tool, VERMEER FCM, to support risk assessment of chemicals migrating from plastic food contact materials (FCMs) in line with Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 for plastic FCM. According to the authors, it is the first tool to combine migration modeling with hazard predictions.
Specifically, the tool provides three functions that can be applied separately or together. (1) Migration modeling based on a combination of a simple mechanistic model and Quantitative Property-Property Relationships (QPPRs), (2) the prediction of selected hazard properties including genotoxicity, subchronic toxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and carcinogenicity based on QSAR models, and (3) retrieving regulatory information as provided by (EU) No 10/2011. To run the models, parameters such as the chemical(s) of interest, the type of FCM and food, contact time, and temperature need to be provided to the tool.
To test the tool, the scientists performed several case studies considering intentionally and non-intentionally added chemicals (IAS and NIAS), comparing their received values with those modeled with existing software or experimentally measured data. Migration values for IAS and predicted hazards for NIAS were in line with existing data.
Van Overmeire and co-authors emphasized that VERMEER FCMs can support the design and evaluation of plastic FCMs while ensuring that they meet regulatory requirements. In addition, it “fits perfectly in the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) concept” (FPF reported and here). VERMEER FCM was developed within the LIFE project VERMEER funded by the European Commission and is freely available in the MERLIN-Expo software.
The authors also acknowledge the limitations of their model. For instance, it can only be applied to individual organic chemicals and one-layered plastics. Furthermore, values on chemical migration are missing in the literature which could be used to compare the modeled data with. A further goal of the authors is to include additional exposure and hazard data allowing to derive a margin of exposure (=no-observed-adverse-effect level/estimated exposure dose) to characterize a substance’s risk.
Reference
Van Overmeire, I. et al. (2024). “VERMEER FCM: A tool integrating exposure and hazard modelling for chemicals migrating from food contact materials.” Food and Chemical Toxicology. DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2024.115059
