Congratulations to Thanos on his PhD defence

Thanos defends PhD on hazardous substances in food contact materials

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Thanos Kourkopoulos has successfully defended his PhD thesis, entitled “Detection of Hazardous Substances in Food Contact Materials: Development and Evaluation of an Effect-directed Screening Framework for Hazard Identification and Suspect Prioritization”, under the supervision of Dick T.H.M. Sijm and co supervision of Misha F. Vrolijk.

His research focused on the safety of recycled paper and cardboard used as food contact materials. In his thesis, Thanos developed and evaluated an effect directed screening framework to identify hazardous substances that may migrate from these materials into food. By combining migration testing, chemical analysis, in vitro bioassays, and computational tools, he created a comprehensive approach to support hazard identification and suspect prioritization.

The results show that recycled paper food contact materials can release mixtures of chemicals, including metals and organic compounds, some of which may pose health concerns. This work underlines the need for harmonized testing strategies and improved assessment methods to ensure that sustainable packaging materials are also safe for consumers.

Congratulations Thanos on this achievement!

The full thesis is available for download here, and the recording of the defence can be rewatched here.