Polymeric materials have revolutionised the way we package, store and even cook our food. We now buy soft and alcoholic drinks in transparent, lightweight plastic bottles, and precooked meals in plastic trays which we reheat in a microwave or conventional oven.

We increasingly expect food packaging materials to be attractive and convenient, to enable us to see the product, to be easily opened and if necessary resealed, and even to prolong the storage life of the food inside.

At the same time there is an increasing awareness that plastics in general are not biodegradable, and there is a growing problem of both waste disposal and wasted resources. There have also been well-publicised concerns regarding the safety of packaging materials and particularly the problem of plasticiser migration from PVC films.

Rapra has many years experience in the field of food packaging, and in addition to routine testing of materials to demonstrate compliance with legislation has also undertaken research projects on additive migration. It is in the light of all the above factors that Rapra has now published this Review Report. The state-of-the-art review draws together the legal framework within which the industry must work, with the technological advances being made both in materials performance and the analysis of migrating monomers and additives.

The review is supported by an indexed section containing some 483 abstracts of published papers, copies of which can be ordered from the Polymer Library.