Safety assessment of the substance (butadiene, styrene, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate) copolymer cross-linked with divinylbenzene or 1,3-butanediol dimethacrylate for use in food contact materials

This scientific opinion of the EFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF) deals with the safety re-assessment of (butadiene, styrene, methylmethacrylate, butyl acrylate) copolymer cross-linked with divinylbenzene or 1,3-butanediol dimethacrylate for use at up to 40% w/w in blends of styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Finished articles are intended for repeated contact at room temperature or below with aqueous, acidic and/or low alcoholic foodstuffs for less than 1 day and with dry foodstuffs for more than 1 day. The substance has a low molecular weight fraction (LMWF) below 1,000 Da up to 3.3%. It starts to thermally degrade at ca 230°C, below the maximum temperature of processing finished articles, 250°C. Among the substances released from the heated polymeric additive, four were detected to be released from the finished food contact material (FCM). Migration of oligomers and reaction products into 3% acetic acid and 20% ethanol from a SAN/PMMA material was found to decrease with repeated uses. After the third contact, cyclo-octatetraene, toluene and a hexanedioic acid related substance were detected by GC–MS analysis of the simulant samples, at approximately 5 lg/kg food. From analysis with headspace-GC–MS of heated plastic samples with and without the substance, four volatiles were (semi)quantified at ca 1 lg/6 dm2 or less. Considering that the substance is a polymeric additive without structural alert for genotoxicity, manufactured using authorised monomers and with limited potential migration of the LMWF, no toxicological data were requested. The CEF Panel concluded that the substance is not of safety concern for the consumer if it is used at up to 40% w/w in blends of SAN/PMMA repeat-use articles intended for contact at room temperature with aqueous, acidic and/or low alcoholic foodstuffs for less than 1 day and with dry foodstuffs without a time limit.