EN 647:1993

Overview

EN 647:1993 (CEN) specifies the preparation of a hot water extract from paper and board intended to come into contact with foodstuffs. The procedure described is intended to produce a representative aqueous extract for subsequent chemical analysis and investigation of extractives that may migrate from packaging into food. National adoptions (for example SIST EN 647:1997) align with this European standard to support harmonised testing across laboratories.

This standard is relevant to manufacturers, testing laboratories, regulatory bodies and quality assurance teams working with food contact materials composed of paper and board.

Key Topics

• Scope and purpose: Defines the objective of producing a hot water extract for investigation of certain extractives in paper and board.
• Sample preparation: Describes how to obtain an extract suitable for analytical testing; emphasis is on reproducibility and representative sampling.
• Analytical compatibility: The extract is intended for use with chemical and chromatographic techniques to identify and quantify extractable substances.
• Safety and quality considerations: Provides a standardised approach that supports consistent evaluation of materials that contact food.

Keywords: EN 647:1993, hot water extract, paper and board, food contact, extractives, sample preparation, CEN.

Applications

This standard is primarily used to support evaluations and decisions in the following areas:

• Safety testing: Preparing extracts for screening potential migrants to assess food safety risks.
• Migration studies: Generating aqueous extracts that feed into migration testing and comparison with limit values or thresholds.
• Quality control: Routine or batch-check procedures by manufacturers to detect unexpected extractives or process-related residues.
• Regulatory compliance: Providing harmonised sample preparation for laboratories performing conformity assessments of paper-based food contact materials.

Practical benefits include reproducible sample processing, improved comparability of laboratory results, and a clear baseline method for further targeted analyses.

Related Standards

• Other European and national standards that address migration testing, specific migration limits, and overall migration for food contact materials complement EN 647:1993.
• Standards covering the composition, testing and labelling of packaging materials and general requirements for materials in contact with food provide context and regulatory linkage.

For implementation, consult the full EN 647:1993 text and any national adoption documents (for example SIST publications) to ensure correct application and alignment with local regulations and analytical protocols.