http://irmm.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Joint Research Centre

Institute for Reference Materials

and Measurements (IRMM)

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Maruszewski, Director JRC-IRMM

5th International Symposium on Food Packaging: “Scientific Developments supporting Safety and Innovation”, 14-16 November 2012, Berlin

The JRC inside the European Commission

Commissioner

Mairé Geoghegan-Quinn

Research, Innovation & Science

President

José Manuel Barroso

27 Commission Members

DG Research & Innovation (RTD) Director-General

Dominique Ristori

Joint Research Centre

•European Commission’s in-house science service

• supporting EU policies with independent, evidence-based scientific and technical support

•2700 staff

•6 locations

About the JRC

Food scandals

© Andrea Ellis

Regulations Testing

Standards

Safety

Sustainability

Marketing Logistics

Ergonomy

Design considerations

Azzi et al., 2012

Mission: To support industrial

competitiveness, quality of life

and security in the EU by

developing advanced

measurement standards and

providing state-of-the-art

scientific advice concerning

measurements and standards for

EU policies.

JRC’s Institute for Reference

Materials and Measurements (IRMM)

EU food and feed legislation

Safety:

• limit amount of hazardous substances in food supply chain

• ensure that legal limits are implemented and respected

Quality:

• ensure compliance with label declaration (content of valued ingredients, origin, manufacturing process)

BSE/TSE testing - Regulation (EC) No 999/2001

melamine in milk products - Commission Decision 2008/798/EC

heavy metals in toys - Directive 88/378/EEC

foreign fats in milk chocolate - Directive 2000/36/EC

mineral oil in sunflower oil - Commission Decision 2008/433/EC

radioactivity in drinking water - Directive 98/83/EC

Examples of JRC support to EU food legislation

Developments in food packaging

Safety Preservation of package content and extension of shelf life through packaging in modified atmosphere Preservation of package, tamper indication Safety of packaging components

Logistics Traceability, inventory control, supply chain efficiency, handling Disposal, reuse, recycle E-business, home shopping

Sustainability Environmental impact, costs related to packaging life cycle Needs of various categories of users (disabled, seniors, children) Honest information

Marketing Health awareness (demand for fresh produce without artificial additives; portion control) Demand for convenience, demand for small/individual portion (smaller households) Communication, branding, differentiation, product image and visibility

Ergonomics Functionality, handling (e.g. easy grip) Accessibility of packaging content (easy to open)

New packaging material developments

• High barrier materials

• Active packaging

• Intelligent packaging

• Digital print for

packaging

• Nanotechnology

Source: World Packaging Organisation

JRC Reference Report

Requirements on

measurements for the

implementation of the

European Commission

definition of the term

"nanomaterial

EU reference laboratory for Food Contact Materials (EURAL-FCM)

prime objective is to build confidence in the

comparability of measurements by:

• production and dissemination of internationally accepted

quality assurance tools, such as

validated methods,

reference materials,

reference measurements,

• interlaboratory comparisons

• training

Standardised methods

• Easily available • Complete documentation • Proven performance • Acceptance • Consensus • Market driven

Joint Research Centre (JRC)

www.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Contact: jrc-info@ec.europa.eu

The European Commission’s in-house

science service