The importanceof hygieneand microbial managementhas increased con-
siderably as a result of extendingthe role of packageand changes in the
manufacturingprocessof fibre-based packagingmaterials. The contact time
between package and foodhas lengthened owingto longer sellingperiods and
extendedtransport timefrom productionplantto market. Furthermore,the
package is no longer usedonlyas a coverof foodproductduringtransportation
and storingwhichis the traditionalfunctionof package, but oftenalso as a tray
in whichfoodcan be warmed up and servedas well(Gerdinget al., 1996).
Simultaneously today consumers prefer minimally processedfood with no
preservatives,low fat, sugarand salt contentand a longtimeof use, making food
moresusceptible to microbial contamination. Important microbial growth-
enhancing changes suchas increased use of recycledfibreas a raw materialand
decreased consumptionof water(closingof watercirculation system) has also
takenplacein paperand boardmanufacturing, whichalso stressthe importance
of hygiene and efficientmicrobial management.
Today's legislative demandsincludein particular consumerprotection and
environmentalconcern.The FrameworkDirective 89/109/EECapplies to all
materials and articlesfor food-contactuse and the FoodHygieneDirective 93/43/
EECset the minimumdemandsfor the safetyand hygieneof foodand materials
usedin foodapplications(EC Council Directive,1989,1993).These Directives
havebeenimplementedinto national lawsof EC member states, e.g in Finland
(Ministryof Trade and Industry, 1993),Germany (BGVV, 2000) and the
Netherlands (VgB, 1999).Nationalregulations existalso in USA(FDA, 2000).
The basicidea of Framework Directive 93/43/EECis formulated in Article 2:
Materials and articlesmustbe manufacturedin compliance withthe
goodmanufacturing practicesso that theydo not transfer their
constituents to foodstuffsin quantitieswhichcould endanger human
health,bring aboutunacceptablechangein the compositionof the
foodstuffs or a deterioration in the organoleptic characteristicsthereof.To date,a legalrequirement existsfor chemicalqualityof raw materialsand
food packages, but microbiological requirements are usually missing.The
legislation on foodcontactmaterials doesnot giveany specificationsfor the
microbiologicalqualityof the materials. The Council of Europe(2002)gavea
PolicyStatementconcerning paperand boardmaterials and articles intended to
comeinto contact withfood.It statesthat materials intended to come in contact
withfoodshouldbe of suitablemicrobiological quality, takinginto account the
intended end use, and thatfor materials intended to comein contactwith
aqueous and/orfattyfoodstuffs particular attention shouldbe paidto pathogens.
Whencompleted the Council of EuropeResolutionwill formthe basisfor a
forthcomingdirective.If the resolution is accepted as suchinto the forthcoming
directiveit will be a cleartighteningof microbiological demandscompared with
the presentFrameworkDirective89/109/EEC.
Whilethe legalrequirementsfor microbiological qualityare missing, the
paperand packagingindustry follows a few available recommendationsfor
Managingcontaminationrisksfromfoodpackagingmaterials 379