Safety assessment of the active substance selenium nanoparticles, for use in active food contact materials

Vittorio Silano , Claudia Bolognesi , Kevin Chipman , Jean Pierre J. P. Cravedi (1) , Karl‐heinz Engel , Paul Fowler , Roland Franz , Konrad Grob , Rainer Gürtler , Trine Husøy , Sirpa Kärenlampi , Wim Mennes , Maria Rosaria Milana , Karla Pfaff , Gilles Rivière , Jannavi Srinivasan , Maria de Fátima Tavares Poças , Christina Tlustos , Detlef Wölfle , Holger Zorn , Martine Kolf-Clauw , Eugenia Lampi , Kettil Svensson , Alexandros Lioupis , Laurence Castle

1 ToxAlim - ToxAlim

This scientific opinion of the EFSA Panelon Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF) deals with the safety assessment of selenium nanoparticles, FCM substance No 1070, which is intended to be used as an antioxidant. Selenium nanoparticles are incorporated into the adhesive middle layer of multilayer laminates with an outside polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer and an inner polyolefin (food contact) layer. The final materials are intended to be used for contact with all food types that are susceptible to oxidation. The specific migration of total selenium was tested using multilayer pouches containing selenium nanoparticles at 0.002mg/dm(2) and filled with 3% acetic acid and 20%, 50% or 95% ethanol for 10 days at 60 degrees C. In all tests, migration of selenium was not detectable. Taking into account current knowledge on the diffusional properties of nanoparticles in polymers, the CEF Panelconcluded that there is no safety concern for the consumer if selenium nanoparticles are used in multilayer films and separated from the food by a polyolefin food contact layer for any type of food and under any food contact conditions.

Mots clés: selenium nanoparticles; active and intelligent materials; multilayer; antioxidant

Domaines: Alimentation et Nutrition; Ingénierie des aliments

Vittorio Silano, Claudia Bolognesi, Kevin Chipman, Jean Pierre J. P. Cravedi, Karl‐heinz Engel, et al.. Safety assessment of the active substance selenium nanoparticles, for use in active food contact materials. EFSA Journal, 2018, 16 (1), 7 p. ⟨10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5115⟩. ⟨hal-02617981⟩