Low risk of migration

The transfer of constituents from food contact materials into food is called migration. EU has only established migration limits for plastic materials (2009)

Although properties and exchange of wood components in the diet may even be desirable, as active material, for instance in food production such as wines, cheeses, etc., to comply with current legislation wood must not give in to food compounds in an amount likely to pose a risk to human health or alter the composition or the taste of food.

In all packaging materials, it has to be identified the substances with potential for migration, establish acceptable limits, and use a methodology to analyze scientifically the process by relying on some agreed food simulants. This is well covered widely in plastic, a synthetic material with increased risk, but very little in the rest.

In wood, the main substances involved in a potential migration are natural volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and those that can be extracted by liquids. Wood, as a natural material, has been investigated more about extractive substances of wood for their usefulness, having little reference to the identification of natural VOC potential to be transferred to what scientists call the headspace or gas phase.