Packaging

Guideline Values for Microbiological Contamination

Provide Increased Assurance for Assessing the
Hygienic State of Food Packaging
by Dr. Werner Hennlich

Part I: Packaging materials and packaging systems made of non-absorbent materials

There is a requirement for hygienic

packaging in accordance with the Codes
of Good Manufacturing and Hygiene
Practice (Codes of Practice) of the general
principles of the Codex Alimentarius. EU
Regulation 852/2004 on food hygiene
stipulates for the first time specific
requirements for the hygienic state of
food packaging in Section X. According
to this, the packaging must not be a
source of contamination for foods.

Certified hygiene management

systems for food packaging must
already consider all hygiene-related
aspects of the manufacturing processes
right through to product filling. The
own monitoring that is carried out
in packaging companies will have to
be increasingly adapted to uniform
Hygiene requirements for food the ability to be resealed, increasing standards. DIN EN 15593-2008 (Hygiene
packaging demands are also being put on the management in the manufacture of food
microbiological-hygienic safety of food packaging) will serve here as a model
The requirements on food packaging packaging. in the member states of the EU. This
have increased significantly over recent describes the requirements for hygienic
decades. This has been the case for all A key aspect here is the microbiological manufacture in detail.
types of packaging: Packaging made of state of the packaging surface at the time
glass, metal, plastic, paper, cardboard, of packing/filling, namely the level of Guideline values of the industrial
laminates, and biodegradable materials. contamination with bacteria, mold, and work group at the Fraunhofer IVV
This also concerns materials that have yeast. The level of contamination in daily
been developed more recently for practice ranges from low to virtually Up until a few years ago, specific values
so-called active or smart packaging germ-free. for microbiological contamination on
and packaging systems containing packaging after manufacture and
nanoparticles.

Modern food packaging must possess

an ever growing list of features covering
product-specific, packaging-technical,
logistic, advertising-related, consumer-
related, and not least environmental-
related aspects. Industry and the retail
industry are endeavoring to comply with
these requirements as far as possible. In
addition to the material-related safety
aspects of packaging that is in direct
contact with products, such as the
transfer of substances and additives to
the foods, risks due to foreign substances
and foreign particles on packaging,
tightness, mechanical strength, and

54 food Marketing & Technology · April 2011

 Packaging

before product filling had not been The values represent a cross-industry when assessing the hygienic state of food
defined in any hygiene standard. In guideline for assessing the hygienic packaging.
order to rectify this, a work group of the state of food packaging made of plastic Key No. 75714
Industrie­vereinigung für Lebensmittel­ based on the current state-of-the-art in
technologie und Verpackung IVLV manufacturing technology. The values The Author
e.V. (Industrial Association for Food are a recommendation and are not legally Dr. Werner Hennlich works at the Fraunhofer
Technology and Packaging) was binding limit values. These guideline Institute for Process Engineering and
established at the Fraunhofer Institute values will give greater overall assurance Packaging IVV, Freising, Germany
for Process Engineering and Packaging
IVV in Freising. Since 2002 this group
has been establishing “Guideline values
1.) Guideline values for microbiological contamination on packaging materials
for microbiological contamination on
made of non-absorbent materials
food packaging (packaging material and
packaging systems)”. Guideline values for films made of plastic, aluminum foil, and for pre-punched lids
made of films and foils for prefabricated packaging systems (beakers, bowls/dishes)
The results of Part I of the project Test criteria Guideline value cfu1 per 100 ml
(Packaging materials and packaging Total surface colony count2 ≤2
systems made of non-absorbent
Mold and yeast ≤1
materials) were published in 2004/2005
and the results of Part II of the project Enterobacteriaceae 3
Not detectable
(Bottle-shaped containers made of 1
colony forming units
glass and plastics) were published in 2
aerobic, mesophilic colony count
2009/2010 in the following journals: 3
gram negative bacteria which cause spoiling of food, many of them present in the human
intestines (indicator organisms for hygienic manufacture)
• Verpackungs-Rdsch. 12/2004 TWB 47-
49 and 9/2009 TWB 91-92 2.) Microbiological guideline values for packaging systems (containers with
• Deutsche Molkereizeitung (dmz) wide openings) made of non-absorbent materials
24/2004, 72-73
Guideline values for containers made of plastic (beakers, bowls/dishes) that are
• Lebensmitteltechnik 12/2004, 48-49
used for food products
and 10/2009, 48-49
Test criteria Guideline value cfu1 per 100 ml
• LVT Lebensmittel Industrie 3,4/2005,
40-43 and 3/2010, 40-42 For container volumes For container volumes
• Flüssiges Obst 7/2009, 300-302 ≤ 500 ml > 500 ml
• Pharma + Food 5/2009, 26-28, and Total surface colony count2 ≤ 10 ≤5
• Beverage & Brewing Guide 2010, 130- Mold and yeast ≤1 ≤1
131.
Enterobacteriaceae 3
Not detectable

Part III of the project (Packaging made of Maximum container volume: 2.5 liters
laminates based on paper and cardboard) These guideline values do not apply for bottles with narrow openings made of glass and
is still ongoing. plastic (See Part II: Guideline values for bottles made of glass and plastic).
inform-werbeagentur.de

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food Marketing & Technology · April 2011 55
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