Five ways food safety and quality can be compromised by packaging materials

27 July 2026 | Lynneric Potter, Food Packaging Technical Lead

Food and drink packaging plays a crucial role in the safety and quality of food products. From the processing line to consumers' shopping bags, it must protect food from contamination and endure transportation, handling and storage without any damage.

Accommodating new food products, and the pressure to reduce packaging and introduce more sustainable and innovative materials, means that fulfilling all packaging requirements becomes a more challenging task.

Although packaging suppliers will do their own tests, it's the responsibility of food manufacturers to ensure that the packaging they use is the right one for the type of food and its storage conditions and that it complies with relevant legislation.

Here we look at five packaging issues that can compromise safety and quality of food/drink products, and how packaging testing can help understand, prevent and manage these.

1. Transfer of constituents – migration and taint

Migration:

Chemical substances used in the manufacture of food contact materials (FCMs) can migrate into and therefore contaminate packaged foods. Typical sources of these chemicals can be plastic monomers, constituents of adhesives, coating and/or printing inks and will include both intentionally added as well as known and unknown non-intentionally added substances.

There are several pieces of legislation applicable to food contact materials in the EU and demonstration of compliance is obligatory for all FCMs regulated by EU regulations or directives; materials excluded from EU measures may be subject to national legislation but all FCMs must comply with the framework legislation 1935/2004.

According to the Framework EU regulation 1935/2004, which lays down the general safety requirements for FCMs, migration should be controlled so it will not pose a risk to human health, alter the composition of food or cause a deterioration of taste, odour or colour of the food.

Migration compliance testing is one tool that can be used to establish that constituents of materials are not migrating at levels which pose a risk to human health. Ultimately, food contact material manufacturers and suppliers need to have evidence that articles placed on the market are safe and compliant with relevant food contact legislation.

Taint:

A taint is an unpleasant odour or flavour that is foreign to the food/beverage product –this could be a taint from the packaging itself, or an external taint that has come through the packaging. Where a product has a taint, we can use a combination of sensory assessment and instrumental analytical techniques to help identify the cause and can also advise on how to prevent reoccurrence.

2. Other interactions between food and packaging

Interactions between food and its packaging can lead to quality loss, contamination and material deterioration through chemical migration (see point 1 above), physical changes or degradation of the packaging material.

For example, when filling cans with beverages it is important to ensure there is sufficient coating present on the can for the duration of the product shelf-life. Over time the coating can degrade, exposing the aluminium – resulting in leakage of the product and elevated levels of aluminium in the product. Testing can provide reassurance that the product is compatible with the coating and that sufficient coating is still present for the duration of the desired shelf-life (based on the region in which the product will be sold). In addition, sensory analysis can ensure the coating does not cause undesirable taint to the product.

With little historical data available on new materials, it is important to gain insight into their behaviour when exposed to different environments. For example, storage conditions can change the properties of materials and their durability. Similarly, exposure to moisture, grease or specific ingredients can cause breakdown.

It is essential that thorough testing is conducted to assess packaging materials in real life scenarios.

3. Lack of pack integrity

Packaging needs to be physically robust enough to protect the product within, not become damaged itself and retain the integrity required to be able to perform its barrier function. If packaging fails, a food product may become unsafe or spoil before the end of its shelf-life.

There are different issues that might cause lack of pack integrity. The most common are:

Seal contamination;
Wrong sealing parameters;
Incompatibility of the materials;
Use of the wrong adhesive, or;
Seals breaking during processing or handling of the product.

The first step to prevent these issues is to pre-emptively test the seals to make sure they were designed and manufactured with the right criteria in the first place. This is particularly important with the double seams of metal cans, where the can wall and the end are interlocked together. When the critical parameters of the double seams have not been met (for example, seam thickness or tightness rating), they might not be completely airtight, leaving the door open to microorganisms.

4. Inadequate strength

With pressure still high for food and drink manufacturers to reduce packaging and improve the recyclability and sustainability of the packaging they do use, this is inevitably in careful balance with the functions that the packaging needs to deliver. Any changes need to be thought through carefully, and the impact on product quality and waste assessed.

Down gauging or changing of packaging materials (particularly from a plastic to paper/board, or moving to a mono material) can reduce the strength of the packaging, which in turn can cause damage – resulting in product contamination, shelf-life reduction and food waste.

When looking to introduce new or changed packaging, it’s important to consider the impact of any change on the packaging function, strength and integrity.

5. Insufficient barrier properties

Although excess of porosity in packaging material (especially plastics) will still protect food from microorganisms, it could let too much oxygen or moisture pass through, creating quality issues. The food product could go rancid, soggy, dry or lose most of its aroma.

Testing of barrier properties will measure the rate of oxygen and moisture that pass through in a given time, temperature and humidity level, so that any issues can be understood and addressed.

How we can help

We are here to help with all elements of managing food safety, quality and compliance with confidence – navigating change, controlling risk, and protecting your brand. From initial supply chain risk assessments through to final product assurance, we provide consultancy and guidance at every step. Our regulatory experts help you meet the legal requirements of your target markets and keep up with changes. And our laboratories are here to help with the design and execution of testing plans to demonstrate compliance.

The best way to understand and minimise the risks discussed in this blog is with testing.

Our packaging specialists have extensive experience in packaging testing and development for all materials, including new types of composite packaging. Our tests are carried out considering all external variables, such as processing conditions, product formulation and storage temperature.

In particular, we can help packaging and food manufacturers with:

Migration testing;
Consulting on regulatory requirements for specific markets;
Barrier testing of materials;
A range of methods to assess strength of different materials and formats;
Assessment of the compatibility and interactions between materials and food/beverages;
Root cause analysis in case of pack/seal integrity issues along with extensive testing.

For any packaging questions, or to discuss your testing needs, get in touch.

About Lynneric Potter

Lynneric has worked at Campden BRI since 1999, and has spent the majority of this time specialising in all things packaging, including supporting members and clients, managing contract projects, and conducting research.