Migration of photoinitiators by gas phase into dry foods.

Photoinitiators are components widely used in UV-cured inks for printing food packaging. In the present study, the migration of seven photoinitiators through the vapor phase was investigated. To perform the migration test, an additive enriched polyethylene wax was used as a source to release photoinitiators. The method was applied to evaluate the migration of the photoinitiators into five selected dry foods (cake, bread, cereals, rice and pasta). The highest level of migration was found in the cake. Parameters affecting the migration process were evaluated, and high migration level was found to correlate with both the porosity and the fat content. In addition, the kinetics of migration of the photoinitiators from the additive enriched wax into the cake were studied under accelerated conditions.