## 1 Introduction  
Food security (FS) has evolved significantly, with increasing focus on the regulation and control of food packaging, particularly in the use of materials like polyethylene terephthalate (PET). While PET has enhanced the durability and functionality of packaging, its use also raises important concerns about the potential migration of contaminants into food products. Understanding and addressing these risks is crucial to ensuring that modern packaging does not compromise FS [1, 2]. Food contamination, both biological and chemical, remains a significant concern, causing foodborne illnesses due to microorganisms and chemical residues [3; 4]. Food poisoning occurs from the ingestion of poorly prepared, improperly stored, or inadequately preserved foods and can be caused by physical, biological, and chemical contamination. Foods can become contaminated during their production, transport, storage, and preparation due to factors such as soil, water, air, and utensils. Therefore, food contamination is defined as the presence of extrinsic agents that compromise human safety and health [5; 6]. These extrinsic agents can include heavy metals, such as cadmium, mercury, lead, and arsenic, which are highly toxic and non-biodegradable, accumulating in the environment and humans through air, water, and food and causing serious health issues. Environmental contamination by these metals, exacerbated by industrial and natural activities, negatively affects food security and public health, with effects ranging from damage to vital organs to cancer [5; 7]. There is also the migration of substances from packaging to food, an increasing concern as certain toxic components can transfer and compromise food safety. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), widely used in food packaging, can release minor compounds such as antimony, a catalyst used in its manufacture. The role of PET in the migration of heavy metals and other contaminants is critical, particularly given how factors such as temperature, contact time, and the nature of the food influence this process. This underscores the need for strict regulations to ensure FS and minimize the risks posed by packaging materials [8; 9; 10]. Within the current legislative framework on contaminants and heavy metals in foods and edible vegetable oils, such as olive oil, notable regulations include EU2023/915 [11], EU2020/1245 [12], and Codex Alimentarius [13], which outline the recommended maximum limits of these contaminants in food. However, there remains a certain laxity for many of these limits or even a lack of specific legislation, such as for cadmium, which lacks specific regulations governing its presence in foods. Regarding vegetable oils, which are essential for the global diet and economy, the primary crops include soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower. Globally, palm oil is the most consumed, but in the European Union, olive oil stands out as a leader in production and consumption, representing approximately 67% of the global supply. In Spain, olive oil is also the most consumed, noted for its high market share, while PET remains the predominant packaging for edible vegetable oils, with 70% global usage [14; 15]. Most studies on virgin olive oil (VOO) have focused on the evolution of quality parameters and shelf life over 12 months under various storage conditions, improving the understanding of the autooxidation process [16; 17; 18]. Antioxidant components, acidic composition, and antioxidant activity during prolonged storage have also been investigated [19; 20], as well as the effect of storage at different temperatures and extraction conditions [21; 22; 23]. However, studies on the degradation of olive oils packaged in PET, derived from refining, and mixed with virgin fractions for commercial use as olive oil (OO) according to Regulation (EU) 2022/2104 [24] are limited for raw consumption. These have primarily focused on their use in frying and stability at high temperatures (170 \({}^{\circ}\)C to 185 \({}^{\circ}\)C) [25; 26].