Acrylonitrile copolymers may be safely used on an interim basis as articles or components of articles intended for use in contact with food, in accordance with the following prescribed conditions:

(a) Limitations for acrylonitrile monomer extraction for finished food-contact articles, determined by a method of analysis titled “Gas-Solid Chromatographic Procedure for Determining Acrylonitrile Monomer in Acrylonitrile-Containing Polymers and Food Simulating Solvents,” which is incorporated by reference. Copies are available from the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-200), Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740, or available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal__register/code__of__federal__regulations/ibr__locations.html.

(1) In the case of single-use articles having a volume to surface ratio of 10 milliliters or more per square inch of food contact surface—0.003 milligram/square inch when extracted to equilibrium at 120 °F with food-simulating solvents appropriate to the intended conditions of use.

(2) In the case of single-use articles having a volume to surface ratio of less than 10 milliliters per square inch of food contact surface—0.3 part per million calculated on the basis of the volume of the container when extracted to equilibrium at 120 °F with food-simulating solvents appropriate to the intended conditions of use.

(3) In the case of repeated-use articles—0.003 milligram/square inch when extracted at a time equivalent to initial batch usage utilizing food-simulating solvents and temperatures appropriate to the intended conditions of use.

The food-simulating solvents shall include, where applicable, distilled water, 8 percent or 50 percent ethanol, 3 percent acetic acid, and either n-heptane or an appropriate oil or fat.

(b) Where necessary, current regulations permitting the use of acrylonitrile copolymers shall be revised to specify limitations on acrylonitrile/mercaptan complexes utilized in the production of acrylonitrile copolymers. Such copolymers, if they contain reversible acrylonitrile/mercaptan complexes and are used in other than repeated-use conditions, shall be tested to determine the identity of the complex and the level of the complex present in the food-contact article. Such testing shall include determination of the rate of decomposition of the complex at temperatures of 100 °F, 160 °F, and 212 °F using 3 percent acetic acid as the hydrolic agent. Acrylonitrile monomer levels, acrylonitrile/mercaptan complex levels, acrylonitrile oligomer levels, descriptions of the analytical methods used to determine the complex and the acrylonitrile migration, and validation studies of these analytical methods shall be submitted by June 9, 1977, to the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-200), Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740, unless an extension is granted by the Food and Drug Administration for good cause shown. Analytical methods for the determination of acrylonitrile complexes with n-dodecyl-mercaptan, n-octyl mercaptan, and 2-mercaptoethanol, titled “Determination of β-Dodecyl-mercaptopropionitrile in NR-16R Aqueous Extracts” and “Measurement of β-(2-Hdroxyethylmercapto) Propionitrile in Heptane Food-Simulating Solvent,” are incorporated by reference. Copies are available from the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-200), Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740, or available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal__register/code__of__federal__regulations/ibr__locations.html.

(c) The following data shall be provided for finished food-contact articles intended for repeated use:

(1) Qualitative and quantitative migration values at a time equivalent to initial batch usage, utilizing solvents and temperatures appropriate to the intended conditions of use.

(2) Qualitative and quantitative migration values at the time of equilibrium extractions, utilizing solvents and temperatures appropriate to the intended conditions of use.

(3) Data on the volume and/or weight of food handled during the initial batch time period(s), during the equilibrium test period, and over the estimated life of the food-contact surface.

(d) Where acrylonitrile copolymers represent only a minor component of a polymer system, calculations based on 100 percent migration of the acrylonitrile component may be submitted in lieu of the requirements of paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section in support of the continued safe use of acrylonitrile copolymers.

(e) On or before September 13, 1976, any interested person shall satisfy the Commissioner of Food and Drugs that toxicological feeding studies adequate and appropriate to establish safe conditions for the use of acrylonitrile copolymers have been, or soon will be, undertaken. Toxicity studies of acrylonitrile monomer shall include: (1) Lifetime feeding studies with a mammalian species, preferably with animals exposed in utero to the chemical, (2) studies of multigeneration reproduction with oral administration of the test material, (3) assessment of teratogenic and mutagenic potentials, (4) subchronic oral administration in a nonrodent mammal, (5) tests to determine any synergistic toxic effects between acrylonitrile monomer and cyanide ion, and (6) a literature search on the effects of chronic ingestion of hydrogen cyanide. Data on levels of acrylamide extractable from acrylonitrile copolymers shall also be submitted. Protocols of testing should be submitted for review to the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-200), Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740.

(f) Acrylonitrile copolymers may be used in contact with food only if authorized in parts 174 through 179 or §181.32 of this chapter, except that other uses of acrylonitrile copolymers in use prior to June 14, 1976, may continue under the following conditions:

(1) On or before August 13, 1976, each use of acrylonitrile copolymers in a manner not authorized by §181.32 of this chapter or parts 174 through 179 of this chapter shall be the subject of a notice to the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-200), Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740. Such notice shall be accompanied by a statement of the basis, including any articles and correspondence, on which the user in good faith believed the use to be prior-sanctioned. The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall, by notice in the Federal Register, identify any use of acrylonitrile copolymers not in accordance with this paragraph. Those uses are thereafter unapproved food additives and consequently unlawful.

(2) Any use of acrylonitrile copolymers subject to paragraph (f)(1) of this section shall be the subject of a petition submitted on or before December 13, 1976, in accordance with §171.1 of this chapter, unless an extension of time is granted by the Food and Drug Administration for good cause shown. Any application for extension shall be by petition submitted in accordance with the requirements of part 10 of this chapter. If a petition is denied, in whole or in part, those uses subject to the denial are thereafter unapproved food additives and consequently unlawful.

(3) Any use of acrylonitrile copolymers subject to paragraph (f)(1) of this section shall meet the acrylonitrile monomer extraction limitation set forth in paragraph (a) of this section and shall be subject to the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.

(g) In addition to the requirements of this section, the use of acrylonitrile copolymers shall comply with all applicable requirements in other regulations in this part.

[42 FR 14636, Mar. 15, 1977, as amended at 47 FR 11850, Mar. 19, 1982; 54 FR 24899, June 12, 1989; 61 FR 14246, Apr. 1, 1996]