The food packaging industry generally uses papers and paperboards (PPBs) especially for disposable products. According to the Framework Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 of the European Union, no transfer of contamination should occur from food packaging material to the food items. The aim of this study was to determine the presence, numbers, source and different kinds of bacteria present in food packaging PPBs with various contents of pulp fiber. The samples were randomly collected from popular confectioners and fast food restaurants in Saharanpur, India. The results indicated the presence of bacteria in all the samples, ranging from 1.3 × 102 to 6.1 × 103 cfu/g. Most of the samples contained bacteria in more than the permitted concentration of 2.5 × 102 cfu/g as set by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The detected bacteria were from genera Bacillacea, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas. According to the FDA declaration, pathogenic bacteria such as B. cereus and S. aureus have been associated with food borne diseases (FBD). Some contaminants in food packaging PPBs were found to be B. subtilis and P. aeroginosa, which produce enzymes like peroxidases and lipoxygenases that are odor generating enzymes.
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