Abstract: Migration of contaminants from packaging materials into food is a big issue in food safety and quality, as it may pose a threat for consumers. With that in mind, it is necessary to study migration characteristics and mathematic modeling to predict the amount of migration. In this study, the migration of four kinds of ultraviolet absorbers (UV-327, UV-P, UV-9 and UV-531) from kraft paper to solid food simulants was investigated at 50, 75 and 100 ℃. Effects of temperature and physicochemical properties of the ultraviolet absorbers on migration were examined. Temperature played a key role in the migration process. The migration rate and final migration amount increased with temperature. Smaller molecular weight, lower values of lgPo/w and boiling points of migrants had a positive impact on the migration. The mathematic model based on Fick’s second law was built and applied to predict the migration amount of UV-P from paper into solid simulants at 70 ℃. The results showed that the built mathematic model could predict the migration amount very well in the initial period before equilibrium.

Key words: migration, food packing paper, food safety, mass transfer model