The dilemma between a circular economy and food safety in the paper and board industry. A systems perspective
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2018-09-11
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en
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The focus of the research is on the dilemma between food safety and the move towards a more circular paper and board packaging industry in Europe. Systems thinking will be used to discuss all parts of the system separately to eventually create a system overview. By mapping trade flows of paper and board in Europe and on a global scale, insight is gained into how complex the paper and board industry is and how complex the research problem is to solve. As mineral oils are the main reason for concern, it is shown how these can get into contact with food. An in depth study into the newsprint sector as main source of mineral oils, shows that printing inks are indeed a big source of mineral oils. Only looking at the news-print sector for blame or solutions is not reasonable, as the mineral oils can originate in other sources as well (TU Darmstadt, 2012) and only a small part of printed newspapers actually ends up in food packaging. Comparing food safety criteria to European policy on food safety and a circular economy show that many indicators are already covered, but policy is not yet specific enough or at a large enough scale when it comes to paper and board. Also, there are no set limits for the intake of MOAH. More specific policy needs to be created and tech-nology needs to be further developed to be able to set clear limits. Some possible solutions already exist, but are not effective yet, form a barrier for recycling or are not feasible in the short term.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen