Researchers at Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL) claim that they have found a trustworthy method for detecting semicarbazide (SEM) in metal lids.
"The new method means that clients can test their products and assess their vulnerability to SEM contamination, before deciding whether a change in packaging design is required or not," said Sonia Puri of RSSL.
"Reliable information is needed before the industry can decide on an appropriate response to the potential food safety risk of semicarbazide," she said.
SEM emerged as a potential food risk in July 2003, when the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) alerted Member States to its presence in some foods sold in jars. These included baby food, fruit juices, jams and conserves, honey, pickles and sterilized vegetables, mayonnaise, mustard, sauces and ketchups.
The fear concerning migration is that SEM is reported to be a mutagen and carcinogen in laboratory animals, although no toxic effects have been reported in humans.
SEM has also been identified as a breakdown product of the veterinary drugs known as nitrofurans. Although not implicated in the recent EFSA findings, the presence of nitrofurans and their breakdown products is banned in food sold in the EU.