New Research Highlights Gaps in Food Contact Chemical Safety Assessment

Published in Environmental Science & Technology on September 1, 2026, the study by researchers from the Food Packaging Forum proposes a grouping-based approach that could help regulators and industry identify chemicals of potential concern more efficiently.

More than 15,000 Food Contact Chemicals

Food contact materials include a wide range of products, from food packaging and containers to kitchenware and other articles that may come into contact with food.

According to the study, more than 15,000 chemicals may be used in the production of, or be present in, food contact articles.

A key concern highlighted by the researchers is the availability of safety information. Their analysis indicates that approximately 87% of these chemicals do not have sufficient publicly available safety data to allow their potential health effects to be adequately assessed.

The study also identifies 1,222 food contact chemicals as substances of concern based on existing hazard information, while thousands of other chemicals remain subject to significant data gaps.

This creates a challenge for regulatory systems that traditionally assess substances individually.

A Group-Based Approach to Chemical Assessment

To address these information gaps, the researchers propose grouping chemicals according to their structural similarities.

The underlying principle is that chemicals with similar molecular structures may exhibit comparable hazard characteristics. Grouping can therefore provide a way to prioritize substances for further assessment, particularly when complete experimental data are not available for every individual chemical.

Using this methodology, the study identifies 38 priority chemical groups containing a relatively high number of substances already associated with potential hazards.

These groups include several widely discussed chemical categories, such as:

• Orthophthalates
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
• Organophosphates
• Isocyanates
• Primary aromatic amines

In total, approximately 4,222 food contact chemicals fall within these 38 priority groups.

Avoiding Substitution Without Sufficient Assessment

One of the broader regulatory issues highlighted by the study is the possibility of replacing a substance of concern with another chemically similar substance that has not been adequately assessed.

Such substitutions may address an immediate regulatory requirement without necessarily resolving the underlying safety concern.

A group-based assessment approach could therefore help regulators and manufacturers consider chemical similarities alongside substance-specific information when evaluating potential alternatives.

For manufacturers of food contact materials, this highlights the importance of looking beyond compliance with existing substance-specific requirements and considering the broader chemical profile of materials and potential alternatives.

New Tools for Screening Food Contact Chemicals

The researchers have also introduced tools intended to support practical application of the proposed methodology.

These include the FCCprio List, an evidence-based list of food contact chemicals identified as priorities, and FCCgroup, an interactive screening tool designed to help users examine groups of chemicals according to the researchers' methodology.

Such tools could potentially support earlier identification of chemicals requiring closer review and help industry stakeholders monitor emerging regulatory and scientific developments.

Implications for the Food Packaging Industry

The study does not suggest that all food contact chemicals are hazardous. Rather, it highlights the scale of existing data gaps and the limitations that may arise when thousands of substances are assessed individually.

For the food packaging industry, the findings reinforce several areas that are likely to remain important:

1. Greater attention to chemical safety data

Availability and quality of safety information will continue to influence how food contact substances are evaluated.

2. More comprehensive material assessment

Companies may increasingly need to consider not only individual substances but also chemical similarities and potential alternatives.

3. Regulatory developments

Scientific advances in chemical grouping could contribute to future discussions around food contact material regulations in major markets, including Europe and the United States.

4. Early monitoring of emerging requirements

As regulatory frameworks evolve, manufacturers and material suppliers may benefit from monitoring scientific research and regulatory discussions at an early stage.

What This Means for PET Packaging

For polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging, food-contact safety remains closely connected with raw materials, additives, processing conditions and regulatory compliance.

The broader direction highlighted by this study is relevant to the entire food packaging value chain: chemical safety assessment is becoming increasingly data-driven, systematic and science-based.

For PET resin manufacturers, maintaining robust quality control, traceability and compliance systems is therefore an important part of supporting downstream food-contact applications.

As scientific understanding develops and regulatory approaches continue to evolve, the industry is likely to place greater emphasis on transparent chemical information, risk-based assessment and responsible material selection.

A Changing Regulatory Landscape

The proposed grouping methodology is one example of how scientific research is exploring alternatives to substance-by-substance assessment.

Whether and how such approaches are incorporated into future regulatory frameworks remains to be determined. However, the study provides another indication that food contact chemical safety will continue to receive attention from regulators, researchers and industry stakeholders.

For companies operating across international packaging markets, keeping track of these scientific and regulatory developments will remain an important part of long-term compliance and product stewardship.

Source: Wiesinger, H. et al. (2026), Prioritizing and Grouping Food Contact Chemicals – From chaos to clarity, Environmental Science & Technology, published online September 1, 2026. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c15186.