Project Grant 20246701142992

FOOD CAN COATINGS SERVE TO RETARD OR INHIBIT CORROSION BY PREVENTING CONTACT BETWEEN THE METAL OF THE CAN AND THE CAN CONTENTS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CAN CONTENTS ARE AGGRESSIVE (OR PROBLEMATIC). BISPHENOL A (BPA)-BASED EPOXY COATINGS ARE THE INDUSTRY STANDARD, EXHIBITING EXCELLENT ADHESION TO METAL; CAN FABRICATION PROPERTIES; AND END PRODUCT PROTECTION, REGARDLESS OF THE FOOD FORMULATION AND THERMAL PRESERVATION PROCESS. HOWEVER, DUE TO ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN CONSUMER SENTIMENT AND IN THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, THE PACKAGING COATINGS INDUSTRY BEGAN DEVELOPING NON-BPA COATINGS OVER A DECADE AGO, WHEREIN THE NON-BPA DESIGNATION INDICATES THE COATING TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM IS BASED ON POLYMERIC MATERIALS NOT DERIVED FROM BPA. AT PRESENT, THE UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION STATES THAT THE AVAILABLE INFORMATION FROM THEIR SAFETY REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE CONTINUES TO SUPPORT THE SAFETY OF BPA FOR CURRENTLY APPROVED USES IN FOOD CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING. REGARDLESS, THE MATERIAL DEGRADATION AND CORROSION PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH NOVEL NON-BPA PACKAGING COATINGS MERIT FURTHER STUDY. WITH THAT SAID, FOOD-PACKAGING INTERACTIONS ARE OFTEN MULTI-FACTORIAL AND DIFFICULT TO MODEL DETERMINISTICALLY. ADDITIONALLY, THE NUMBER OF POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS OF FOOD AND COATING FORMULATIONS TO BE TESTED IS OVERWHELMING AND PRACTICALLY INFEASIBLE. TO EFFECTIVELY APPROACH THIS COMPLEX PROBLEM, WE WILL EVALUATE SYSTEMATICALLY DESIGNED NON-BPA COATINGS USING ADVANCED MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES BEFORE AND AFTER THERMAL PROCESSING TO DETERMINE THE CORROSIVITY OF VARIOUS FOOD MATRICES AND COATING PERFORMANCE AND PROPERTIES. THESE DATA WILL BE USED AS INPUTS IN MACHINE LEARNING MODELS TO ELUCIDATE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FOOD CONSTITUENTS AND NOVEL FOOD CAN COATINGS, DEVELOP ACCELERATED METHODS AND TOOLS TO SCREEN COATINGS, ASSESS COMPATIBILITY OF FOODS AND COATINGS, AND PREDICT PRODUCT SHELF LIFE TO IMPROVE FOOD SAFETY AND FOOD SECURITY.