Neutron activation analysis of recycled paper and board in contact with food

Recycling of wastepaper has been shown to increase the concentration of metals in the product. Although it is generally assumed that there is no risk of migration of chemical contaminants from recycled paper and board into food, the UK Food Standards Agency has identified limited evidence of such migration. Therefore, it is important to carry out research to establish the concentration of metals in recycled paper and board in contact with food. A previous study at Imperial College had resulted in the development of a neutron activation analysis method to determine trace metals in plastic packaging. This paper describes an initial study to establish whether the same methodology could be applied to paper and board and to carry out a preliminary investigation into a small range of recycled paper and board products. The study was made on 22 elements in 17 products including pizza boxes, fries boxes, kitchen towel, table napkins, greaseproof paper, tea bags and cake cases. This work has shown elevated levels of some elements including barium (69 mg/kg in pizza bases) and chromium (5 mg/kg in napkins, 50 mg/kg in greaseproof paper, 2 mg/kg in cake cases, 90 mg/kg in baking parchment, 5 mg/kg in fries boxes and 5 mg/kg in pizza bases).