A Definitive Test for Set-Off of Pigments and Other Non-Volatile Substances on Flexible Food Packaging

A test for the estimation of amount of visual set-off was developed in this study 1 The output from the test was a simple pass or fail decision. The equipment used was off-line and relied upon subjective visual detection by an operator equipped with narrow spectrum viewing goggles. Such a technique is also time-consuming as it requires manual estimation of surface area of set-off regions on the food contact surface. Additionally, detection of induced fluorescence gives little information about the chemical nature of the residues or whether use of the film to package food is likely to breach statutory limits for individual chemical compounds.