Baking molds and other silicone products intended for food contact lack a standard to ensure their safe use. A gap that urgently needs to be closed, as shown by a test of 44 products conducted by 10 members of BEUC, the European federation of consumer associations. (1)
Silicone pans and molds, lightweight and nonstick
Silicone is widely used among kitchen utensils because of its light weight and non-stickness to fatty foods.
Similar to rubber, this polymer consists of individual elements, known as siloxanes. During the manufacturing process, additives such as plasticizers or dyes are used to achieve specific functions, such as flexibility or color.
Chemical hazards
Chemical hazards of silicone tools arise from the presence in the finished product of various volatile compounds, either used as starting materials or formed as byproducts during the curing process.
A post-polymerization treatment could prevent the migration of such chemical compounds into food. However, due to the onerous nature of the process (highly energy intensive) not all manufacturers of silicone MOCAs use it.
Three highly problematic siloxanes
Some chemicals, also known to be harmful to health, are transferred from the utensil to the food. Moreover, the risk of migration increases precisely under the common conditions of use of silicone baking pans and molds: high temperature, microwave, long-term reuse.
Knowledge of the complex mixture of chemicals that migrate from silicone materials and its toxicological effects by long-term ingestion is still poor.
Three siloxanes (D4, D5 and D6) are certain to be hazardous, suspected of endocrine disruption and reprotoxicity, as well as persistent in the environment and therefore classified assubstances of very high concern (SVHCs) under REACH.
The baking mold test
The baking mold test involved 44 products purchased in Europe at physical or online outlets by 10 BEUC member consumer associations. In addition to Altroconsumo of Italy, participants included Deco (Portugal), dTest (Czech Republic), Forbrugerrådet TÆNK (Denmark), Organización de consumidores y usuarios (Spain), Sveriges Konsumenter (Sweden), Test-Achats/ Test-Aankoop (Belgium), UFC- Que Choisir (France), Verein für Konsumenteninformation (Austria), and Zveza Potrošnikov Slovenije (Slovenia).
The work, coordinated byInternational Consumer Research and Testing (ICRT), simulated the common use of these MOCAs by employing them three times to cook fatty and oily foods at high temperatures.
The analyses
The samples were evaluated according to three criteria inspired in part by the plastic MOCA regulation:
1 – amount of volatile compounds released during the third migration test. Judgment ranges from green for migration <10 mg/kg), yellow (10-30 mg/kg) or red (>30 mg/kg),
2-stability of the material. Repeated three times, the test measures the amount of volatile compounds released between the first and third migration tests,
3 – problematic substances detected in the third migration test.
The result
Only 7 samples (16%) received a green rating because overall the amount of volatile compounds released was low (<10 mg/kg), and decreasing between the first and third migration. In addition, no problematic substances were detected in the analysis of these products.
10 samples (23%) failed due to high overall release of volatile compounds (>30 mg/kg) or increase in the amount of such compounds released between the first and third migration tests, a sign of poor stability of the material, unsuitable for repeated use. These include two products purchased on Amazon that exceeded the overall migration limit of 60 mg/kg set in the plastics regulation.
Twenty-seven samples (61 percent) were classified as ‘yellow’ due to the small amount of migrated substances (10-30 mg/kg).
Substances to be banned
Substances of concern were found to have migrated into food in 36 of 44 silicone baking molds analyzed. Namely, the three siloxanes already mentioned and other cyclosiloxanes.
In some samples, the analysis detected substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMR) or suspected of endocrine disruption, such as benzophenone or dibutylphthalate.
The measured quantities are always low. But repeated ingestion of small doses of toxic substances over time raises fears.
Insufficient information
Another defect highlighted by the test is insufficient, ambiguous, or missing labeling regarding
- to instructions for the proper use of the product, sometimes conveyed with pictograms printed in the same color and therefore illegible,
- To the manufacturer’s identification data.
Two silicone baking molds purchased on AliExpress and Wish provided no instructions for use, while most of the samples purchased on the online marketplace did not include the manufacturer’s contact details, making it impossible for consumers and authorities to contact the responsible company in the event of a complaint.
BEUC’s demands
In light of the test results, BEUC recommends the following.
- Develop strict EU standards for silicones and all non-plastic food contact materials without delay,
- Equally consider migration for intentionally and unintentionally added chemicals, and reduce their legal limits,
- Clarify the information requirements of MOCA labels and also provide awareness campaigns for consumers to be aware of the risks related to the misuse of products,
- Introduce new tools for monitoring online sales (baking molds purchased on AliExpress or Amazon were among the worst in the test). And include a requirement for online marketplaces to verify the identity of the person responsible for products sold on their sites before the products are placed on the market.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) BEUC. Silicone bakeware can add unwanted substances to cookies and cakes, consumer groups find. https://www.beuc.eu/press-releases/silicone-bakeware-can-add-unwanted-substances-cookies-and-cakes-consumer-groups-find
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
