Research led by Dr Koni Grob at the Food Safety Laboratory in Zurich revealed that mineral oils found in the inks of recycled newspapers could migrate into the food products within the inner bag.
In some cases, the mineral oils present were between 10 and 100 times higher than the regulation limit for foodstuffs such as cereals, pasta and rice.
Cereal companies Jordans, Kellogg's and Weetabix have already expressed intentions to assess or eliminate outright, their use of recycled card in packaging.
Jordans had previously stopped using recycled cardboard in its packaging while the other two companies said they were taking steps to reduce the oils present in their packaging and looking at viable alternatives to recycled cardboard.
A Kellogg’s spokesperson told PrintWeek that while experts had said that there was no immediate health concern, the company was looking into is packaging.
It added: "We are working with our suppliers on new packaging which allows us to meet our environmental commitments but will also contain significantly lower levels of mineral oil. We are also looking at alternative inner liners for our packets.
"While there are strict regulations when it comes to the packaging of food, there is currently no direction from the UK government about mineral oils. We will immediately follow any such guidance once it has been given."
Commenting on the findings, Barbara Gallani, director of food safety and science, Food and Drink Federation, added: "We are aware of recent studies looking at the potential presence of mineral hydrocarbons in food from recycled cardboard used in food packaging.
"We understand that the information currently available is limited and we are working with the Food Standards Agency, food manufacturers, retailers and the packaging supply chain to gather more information."
Presently, more than 50% of the cardboard used in Europe originated from recycled materials while virgin board from new trees is both more expensive and global stocks would not fulfil the current consumption of cardboard.
However, Grob added that this option would not completely eliminate the threat posed by mineral oils in food as transportation alongside recycled newspaper boxes could still risk contamination.
Recycled cardboard packaging presents health risk, new research claims
Companies employing the use of recycled cardboard in the production of food packaging have started to look at viable alternatives to the substrate after research revealed that the chemicals present in newspaper printing inks could contaminate the food inside.
