Hygiene · food contact · cleanroom

Plastic cores for food, pharmaceutical and cleanroom use

ROLL Lab · updated 24 October 2026 · sources at the bottom of the page

Why plastic in clean areas

• No fibres or dust: cardboard sheds fibres when it is cut, when it rubs on the shaft and when it is handled. Plastic has a closed surface.
• Washable: it can be washed and sanitised, absorbs no liquids and does not go mouldy.
• Bag-packable: cores can be delivered in sealed single or double bags, ready to enter a controlled area.
• Stable: it does not change size with the humidity of washdowns and chilled areas.

Who asks for it

Core, film, food: what touches what

The right question is not “is the core food grade?” but “does the core come into contact with the food, and how?”. In a roll of food film the core touches only the first wraps of film. Those wraps often never reach the food: they are the end-of-roll waste. In other cases the roll is unwound in a food area and the core is close to the product. Three situations:

1. No reasonably foreseeable contact: the core is packaging for the film. Hygiene, cleanliness and freedom from fibres matter, not migration.
2. Indirect contact: the core touches the film, which then touches the food. The risk of transfer is assessed (for example set-off of substances between surfaces in contact). The film producer decides whether documents are needed, and which.
3. Direct or foreseeable contact: rolls of cling film or baking paper sold with the core, cores used in the plant in contact with the product. Here the core is a food contact material in every sense.

The rules to know

• Regulation (EC) 1935/2004: the general framework for food contact materials. Materials must not transfer substances in quantities that endanger health or change the food (Art. 3), and must be traceable (Art. 17).
• Regulation (EC) 2023/2006: good manufacturing practice (GMP) for food contact materials.
• Regulation (EU) 10/2011: rules for plastics. It sets authorised substances, overall migration limits (10 mg/dm² of surface) and specific limits, test conditions with simulants, and the declaration of compliance.
• NIAS: non-intentionally added substances (impurities, degradation products) must be assessed under risk assessment principles. They are more likely in recyclates.
• Regulation (EU) 2022/1616: recycled plastic may come into contact with food only if it comes from compliant processes and technologies. For post-consumer PP, PE and PVC, compliant routes are still limited.

Great Britain and the United States. In Great Britain, Regulations 1935/2004, 2023/2006 and 10/2011 continue to apply as assimilated law, enforced by the Food Standards Agency; Northern Ireland follows the current EU texts. In the United States, plastics in contact with food fall under FDA rules in 21 CFR, for example 21 CFR 177.1520 for polypropylene and polyethylene, and suppliers declare compliance against those sections.

For comparison, there is no specific EU measure for cardboard: national rules apply, for example the Italian Ministerial Decree of 21 March 1973.

Documents to request from the supplier

• declaration of compliance with Regulation (EU) 10/2011 (or 21 CFR for the US market), with the type of food, contact times and temperatures allowed;
• declaration on the origin of the polymer (virgin or recycled; if recycled, the authorised process);
• declaration on restricted substances (REACH, heavy metals);
• evidence of the manufacturer’s GMP system and, if your standard requires it, its packaging certification (for example BRCGS Packaging Materials);
• batch traceability back to the raw material.

Fiaptech technical documentation (a company with corporate ties to ROLL) indicates a “medium” NIAS risk for cardboard and recycled PVC, “low” for recycled HDPE and “none” for virgin polymers. It is a manufacturer’s qualitative assessment: useful as a reminder, not as proof.

Cleanrooms

In cleanrooms, air cleanliness is classified to ISO 14644-1, by number of particles per cubic metre. A material that sheds fibres, such as cardboard, is hard to manage in the cleanest classes. For cleanroom cores, buyers usually ask for:

• virgin polymer, with no fillers that might dust;
• deburred or chamfered ends, with no chips;
• washing and drying after cutting;
• double bagging, with the outer bag opened in the airlock;
• a batch label outside the bag.

In pharmaceuticals, EU GMP rules (EudraLex, Volume 4, with Annex 1 for sterile manufacture) point the same way: materials that do not shed particles and can be cleaned.

Electronics: antistatic cores

In cleanrooms for semiconductors, displays and photovoltaics the issue is not only particles but static charge: unwinding film at high speed easily generates thousands of volts, which attract dust and can damage components. Common plastics are insulators, with surface resistance above 10¹² Ω. These lines use cores with antistatic additives or conductive fillers, classified as conductive, dissipative or insulating under IEC 61340-5-3. Ask for the measured value (method IEC 61340-2-3) and how long it lasts: antistatic agents that migrate to the surface lose effectiveness over time and with washing.

Returned cores in food production

Reusing cores returned by customers is possible, but in sensitive sectors it needs a method. Before accepting them you need a risk analysis, validated washing and sanitising, clear scrap criteria (cracks, residues, odours) and a check of contracts and certification standards. Many companies keep the loops separate: new cores for food customers, returned cores for the others. Reuse and return loops.

Good practice in brief

1. Define the real contact between core, film and food.
2. Choose virgin polymers if contact is foreseeable or the cleanliness class is high.
3. Ask for documents before sampling, not after.
4. Cut with a method that leaves no chips: cutting plastic cores.
5. Protect cores until use: sealed bags, clean storage.

Information summary. Specific compliance requires the supplier’s declaration and an assessment within your own quality system.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

Sources

1. Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food
2. Regulation (EC) 2023/2006 on good manufacturing practice for food contact materials
3. Regulation (EU) 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles
4. Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials intended to come into contact with foods
5. Food Standards Agency, food contact materials legislation in Great Britain, food.gov.uk
6. US FDA, 21 CFR 177.1520, olefin polymers
7. ISO 14644-1, classification of air cleanliness in cleanrooms
8. EudraLex, Volume 4, EU GMP and Annex 1 (manufacture of sterile medicinal products)
9. Italian Ministerial Decree of 21 March 1973, hygiene of packaging in contact with food
10. Fiaptech technical documentation, Smart Book “Which core?” (a company with corporate ties to ROLL): indicative NIAS risk
11. IFSQN, reuse of returned cores in food production
12. IEC 61340-5-3 (classification of packaging for electrostatic discharge sensitive devices) and IEC 61340-2-3 (resistance measurement methods)