Screening for Chemicals in Paper and Board Packaging for Food Use: Chemometric Approach and Estimation of Migration By Valeria Guazzotti, 1 * Barbara Giussani, 2 Luciano Piergiovanni 1 and Sara Limbo 1 1 Department of Food Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, DeFens, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Scienza e Alta Tecnologia, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, Via Valleggio, 11, 22100 Como, Italy An analytical survey of 20 paper and board (P&B) materials intended for food use was carried out with the aim to identify chemicals with a potential to migrate into foods. Representative materials covering a range of uses (primary and secondary packaging and article for take away foods) were obtained from distributors. A screening approach was applied by means of solvent extraction with subsequent analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A large number of analytes were detected, and a chemometric approach was used to explore the data. Principal component analysis was used to identify and select some compounds as markers for sample classification. In the corrugated and printed packaging, it is worth empha- sizing the presence of residual solvents, probably coming from printing inks, as well as hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds, mainly toluene and plasticizers linked also to the recycled pulp content such as diisobutyl phthalate or diisopropylnaphthalenes, whereas in the plastic-laminated samples, triacetin was identified as the prevailing compound. A literature search for safety data or legislative restrictions of the identified substances was performed. Additionally, the semi-quantification of the compounds in the packag- ing allowed a worst case estimation of food contamination by means of the infinite total migration model; occasionally, migration estimations overcame the specific migration limits. The chosen analytical methods coupled with a chemometric approach proved to be an effective way to describe the data; it may be con- cluded that only the simultaneous consideration of several chemicals with a multivariate approach allowed the investigated packaging materials to be distinguished. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 10 March 2014; Accepted 1 September 2014 KEY WORDS: food packaging; paper and board; migration; principal component analysis INTRODUCTION Paper and board (P&B) are commonly used as food packaging materials. Applications include direct contact (primary packaging or articles for take away food) and indirect contact packaging, e.g. cartons for transport and distribution (secondary and tertiary packaging). P&B are manufactured from cellulose-based natural fibres from bleached and unbleached fibre material. P&B for food contact use may contain functional additives and synthetic fibres as well as other treatment agents and polymeric binders for organic and inorganic pigments. To reduce waste and support sustainability, recycled fibre materials may also be used. On the basis of their final appli- cation, P&B are also coated and printed and/or used in laminated materials, including combinations with plastics and aluminium foil. In these cases, inks, varnishes and adhesives are widely used to obtain the right performances. * Correspondence to: Valeria Guazzotti, Department of Food Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, DeFens, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy. E-mail: valeria.guazzotti@unimi.it PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE Packag. Technol. Sci. (2014) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pts.2109 Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.