Semicarbazide is not a threat to human health says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) but the food industry still faces an August deadline for its elimination from packaging. The decision will provide little relief to the food & drinks industry & packagers, who face a deadline of 2/08 to eliminate the use of a chemical that produces semicarbazide as a by-product. The main source of semicarbazide in food is as a by-product of plastic seals used on the inside of metal twist-on-twist-off lids of glass jars that contain food. The contamination occurs due to the thermal breakdown of azodicarbonamide, an agent used to foam the plastic gaskets. From 2/08/05, EU directive 2004/1/EC prohibits the use of azodicarbonamide in any materials that may come into contact with food. To read this story in full, see: www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?id=61057
