Migration Test Reports: What They Prove and What They Don't

Migration reports are powerful and easy to misuse. A PDF does not bless every future lot, color, or thickness. Learn what the report covers so Chinese supplier documents become decision tools instead of filing clutter.

What migration testing measures

Movement of substances from packaging into food or food simulants under defined conditions. Results depend on material, temperature, time, simulant, and surface-to-volume assumptions. Wrong conditions make tidy numbers meaningless for your use case.

What a report proves

Under the stated conditions, the tested specimen met the stated limits for the analytes in scope. It supports a compliance argument when specimen and conditions match your pack and use.

What it does not prove

That a different color, adhesive, or PCR content is fine. That every future lot is identical without process control. That non-listed destination rules are satisfied. That sensory issues cannot occur. That structural seals will not fail.

How to read carefully

Specimen description. Thickness. Test conditions. Simulants. Lab identity. Date. Whether the producing site matches. Gaps versus your real fill and process.

Mistakes

Reusing a three-year-old report after formula and film changes. Accepting a bottle report for a pouch structure. Ignoring inks and closures.

Field habit

Create a one-line cover sheet for every migration PDF: specimen, structure, thickness, conditions, lab, date, site. If the cover sheet cannot be filled, the report is not ready to support a PO. Train purchasing to reject bare PDFs without that cover.

Soft next step

Convert the checks in this article into a one-page SKU checklist and send it with your next RFQ so suppliers answer with specifics instead of adjectives.

Related guides

• Food Contact Materials: What Buyers Should Ask Chinese Suppliers
• How to Cite GB and GB/T in Packaging Specs and POs
• Barrier Properties of Packaging Materials: What Buyers Need to Know

Sources

Based on common export packaging procurement practice; verify with your supplier, lab partners, and destination-market requirements.