LEAD IN PAPER: A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FOOD CONTAMINATION

1 October 1974

journal article
Published by International Association for Food Protection in Journal of Milk and Food Technology

Vol. 37 (10) , 499-503
https://doi.org/10.4315/0022-2747-37.10.499

Abstract

Many paper products, including newspapers and paper goods used in packaging foods, contain lead. The lead content of newspapers, an important constituent of recycled paper, varies with color of ink, type of printing process, and source of newsprint. Recycled newsprint is richer in lead than virgin newsprint. Lead on or in food packages ranged from 2 to 10,000 ppm, and varied with the quantity of printing and color of ink. Printed packages contained more lead than unprinted material, although some unprinted ones contained up to 58 ppm. The potential for introducing lead into meat and milk by feeding waste paper to ruminants is explored. Negligible amounts of lead are introduced into soils and plants from news-paper mulch.

Keywords

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