Every risk assessment is a case-by-case conclusion that needs to be performed and considered individually. Most importantly, any substance that can possibly migrate, e.g. in sensitive areas such as food applications, needs a risk assessment. For many substances this has already been done by authorities through defining individual SMLs (Specific Migration Limits).

Prerequisite for a risk assessment is a hazard assessment and an exposure assessment. The hazard assessment includes data gathering on the intrinsic properties of a substance by means of different sources. These properties are given, but are subject to a dose-response-relationship. Our exposure assessment, on the other hand, is in a first step a migration assessment that depends on numerous parameters, e.g. the amount of ink applied, the physical-chemical properties of a particular migrant, or the storage conditions (e.g. temperature, shelf life) of the packaging.

In the end, final exposure strongly depends on the consumer’s eating habits. More specifically, for the exposure assessment it is relevant which quantities of which food types (containing a specific migrant) are eaten by the consumer per day.