Laboratory tests for materials and tools in contact with food

Dr. Hend Abdellah stressed that continuing this approach of successful cooperation serves the interest of the country and workers in the food industry sector, as food contact materials are among the most important developments and international requirements in order to ensure safe food. She explained that the laboratory has recently included analysis of food contact materials and has been internationally accredited, as they are used by the best laboratory methods, in addition to performing simulations of everything that comes into contact with food and affects it, in accordance with regulations and laws. Dr. Reda Abdel Gelil, General Manager of Technical Affairs at the Chamber, added that the Chamber mainly focuses on supporting industries that use local raw materials that can be exported, such as Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and dates, reducing waste and reusing food and agricultural processing waste in producing secondary products and unconventional feeds, encouraging and supporting research and development, and modern technologies in production. During the workshop sessions, Dr. Esraa Mousa, who is responsible for the file of materials and tools in contact with food at the National Food Safety Authority, reviewed the Authority’s Board of Directors’ Decree No. 17 of 2022 regarding binding rules for materials and tools in contact with food and the extent of its cooperation in this file with the manufacturers and users of these materials. Dr. Khaled Nagy, food manufacturing, packaging and safety engineering expert and Deputy Director of the Food Technology Research Institute, also moderated discussions on smart and environmentally friendly packaging and risk analysis. A detailed explanation was also provided about the methods of transfer of contaminants from various types of materials and tools in contact with food, and methods for measuring them according to the type and nature of each material and what it is used for in food, in accordance with the binding international specifications in this regard, in addition to a group of important lectures delivered by experts from the Chamber, the National Food Safety Authority, the Laboratory, and the Food Technology Research Institute.