Packaging contaminants in former food products: using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to identify the remnants and the associated risks

Food waste and feed-food competition can be reduced by replacing traditional feed ingredients such as cereals, with former food products (FFPs) in livestock diets. These foodstuffs, initially intended for human consumption, are recovered, mechanically unpacked, and then ground. Despite this simple and inexpensive treatment, packaging contaminants (remnants) are often unavoidable in the final product. To maximize the exploitation of FFPs and to minimize the associated risks, packaging remnants need to be quantified and characterized. This study tested the efficacy of the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy coupled with an optical microscope (μFT-IR) in identifying packaging remnants in 17 FFP samples collected in different geographical areas. After a visual sorting procedure, presumed packaging remnants were analyzed by μFT-IR. The results showed significant differences (p < 0.05) between the FFPs in terms of the total number of foreign particles found (plastics, cellulose and aluminum remnants, ranging from 4 to 19 particles per 20 g fresh matter), and also regarding the number of cellulose and aluminum particles. These data clearly demonstrate the need for sensitive instruments that can characterize the potential contaminants in the FFPs. This would then help to reduce the overestimation of undesirable contaminants typical of simple visual sorting, which is currently the most common method.