Food-contact compliance is not one test; it is two families of tests that answer different questions, and a report that carries only one of them is incomplete. Overall migration asks how much substance moves from the plastic into the food in total. Specific migration asks how much of one named substance moves, and it is where the regulated limits live. Buyers who read the reports correctly qualify suppliers faster and avoid the two most common document mistakes.
Overall migration: the total that must not exceed
Overall migration measures everything that transfers from the material into a food simulant under standard conditions, expressed in milligrams per square decimetre of surface or per kilogram of food simulant. The EU limit is 10 mg per square decimetre, and the test uses simulants chosen to represent food families: water-based foods use one simulant, acidic foods another, fatty foods a third, and the simulant selection is part of the method. A part tested only in a water simulant has not been tested for the fatty-food use the buyer intends, which is the first common document mistake.
Specific migration: the named substances
Specific migration targets individual substances with their own limits, and this is where the regulation does its work. The list covers monomers and starting substances with specific migration limits, plasticisers with group restrictions, and the substances newly added by amendment. Each entry states the limit and the test method, and the report shows the measured value against the limit. The second common document mistake is a report that covers overall migration only and leaves the specific limits to a declaration letter, which is not a test.
| Test | Question answered | Typical trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Overall migration | Total transfer into simulant | Every food-contact material |
| Specific migration | Transfer of one named substance | Regulated monomers, plasticisers, additives |
| Simulant selection | Which food families are covered | Water, acidic, alcoholic, fatty, dry |
| Repeat use / hot fill | Behaviour beyond first contact | Mugs, kettles, hot-fill containers |
Reading a migration report
Four lines decide whether a report is usable. The test conditions, including the time and temperature, because a report tested at room temperature does not cover a hot-fill or a dishwasher programme. The simulants used, matched against the intended food families. The measured values against the stated limits, for both overall and the relevant specific substances. And the material identity, because a report for one grade does not transfer to a recoloured or regrind-added version of the same part without a statement covering it.
What buyers should request
Request the test report rather than the certificate: a certificate says a standard was met, a report shows the conditions and the numbers, and the difference is exactly where the mismatches hide. Request simulant coverage that matches the use, and for repeat-use or hot-fill parts request the repeated-contact conditions, because the limits and the test protocol change. And request the declaration of intent, the statement of which food families the material is intended for, because that is the line the laboratory actually tested against.
Related reading
The EU 10/2011 buyer guide covers the regulation framework, the food contact basics article covers FDA and LFGB alongside, and the preform and jar blank programme shows a food-contact family with full documentation.
Related product categories
The materials and part types discussed above are grouped in our sourcing directory:
