Published on April 16, 2014

India implemented BIS standards for food packaging inks. However, adhering to these standards is not mandatory and this complacency can pose a threat to consumer health.

Manufacturers involved in food packaging should ensure adoption of highest levels of manufacturing. Everyone involved in this sector must make consumer health their priority.

Interaction between food packaging, its surroundings and its contents can take place in 3 ways:

Permeation leads to movement of any substance through the walls of packaging.

Migration is the transfer of a substance from food to the packaging or vice versa.

Invisible set-off refers to the situation wherein ink set-off occurs on the reverse side of printed labels or packaging material and this can lead to transfer of low-molecular substances on to the unprinted surface of the packaging that makes contact with the contents.

There is a need to review the protocols used for ensuring safe food packaging. Protecting consumer health is the responsibility of everyone involved in the food packaging industry. However, the person or entity making a product available to consumers should ensure that the packaging is in accordance with the standards implemented.

Safety scale of the printing ink depends on the packaging material, the printing conditions, the contents of the package, the conditions while packaging, production and filling as well as the way in which the food package is meant to be used.

The contents of the package should not be altered by the packaging. There should be absolutely no change in the odour, quality or taste of  foodstuff caused by packaging. Thus, the food packaging industry must ensure that their packaging materials do not pose a threat to human health, do not change the composition of the foodstuff and production should be in accordance with the good manufacturing practices (GMP).

There are international standards in place to avoid any risks to human health. The European Directive 2002/72/EC is related to plastic materials that make contact with foodstuffs. The directive has stated that the overall migration limit should be no more than 60 mg/k food of surface area. There are also specific migration limits (SML) for individual substances. Packaging inks that are not to come in direct food contact are not under the scope this directive.

The Swiss Ordinance RS 817.23.21 from the Federal Office of Public is the latest legislation related to printing inks for food packaging. This legislation lays down that inks used in food packaging must made of materials that have composed of substances mentioned in the ordinance.

In the U.S., the FDA regulates substances that are used in packaging that will make contact with food. The FDA has provided a list of approved materials. Printing inks and coatings that do not make contact with foodstuff are not regulated, provided there is some sort of barrier between the foodstuff and the ink.