Printing Inks on Food Packaging
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates food packaging and food packaging components.
2018 Setoff in Food Packaging Printing
May 2018 Setoff is the migration of substances from the printed side to the unprinted side of another sheet in a stack, roll, or stacked container – learn the facts. Download here
2018 Printing Inks on Food Packaging Guidance Document - March 2018
March 2018 This guide was prepared by the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM), for use by manufacturers of inks and coatings used for non-food contact printing applications. It uses established regulations and recognized standards and represents the collective knowledge of NAPIM member companies. Download here.
Foreign Supplier Verification - FDA Guidance
Jan 2018 FDA issued enforcement guidance on the FSVP. The FSVP section begins on page 17. Download here.
Food Safety Alliance for Packaging - Supply Chain Considerations March 2018
The OSHA Hazard Communication requirements covering trade secrets and confidential business information remain largely unchanged from pre-GHS HazCom. Chemical name, substance identification number, and exact weight percentage belong to trade secrets if the claim that the information withheld is a trade secret can be supported. Prior approval from OSHA is not required.
All hazards must be disclosed. If confidential business info is claimed and withheld from SDSs, it must be indicated as trade secrets in SDSs.
However, under GHS different competent authorities (geographic regions) are empowered to make their own provisions to protect confidential business info in SDSs or on labels as long as such provisions do not compromise the health and safety of workers and consumers. This page provides a summary.
NAPIM Comments on California OEHHA Lead (Pb) Limit in Candy Wrappers
The HCS applies to any hazardous chemical* present in the workplace in a manner that employees may be exposed under normal conditions of use and foreseeable emergencies.(page 8 of 2015 Compliance Instruction)
2015 Compliance Instruction for enforcement of the Hazard Communication Standard
Use of DOT Placards for HazCom Pictogram Compliance
Of particular interest in this new compliance, instruction is the clarification/confirmation that the US DOT Placards that contain hazard symbols meet the HazCom pictogram requirements (page 48 of the compliance instruction).
*Hazardous chemical means any chemical which is classified as a physical hazard or a health hazard, a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, pyrophoric gas, or hazard not otherwise classified
Chinese Food Contact Materials Regulations GB 4806.1-2016
- 2012 NAPIM Bulletin on GHS and Hazard Communication for Ink Manufacturers
- 2015 OSHA Compliance Guidance – Reasonable Diligence and Good Faith
- 2013 GHS Webinar Part 1
- 2013 GHS Webinar Part 2
- 2015 GHS Overview and Status
- 2015 SDS Authoring for Ink Manufacturers
- Carbon Black and SDS
- Titanium Dioxide and SDS
- Labeling for direct imports and exports
- Safety Data Sheets(SDS) – Using Ranges for Multiple Ink Formulations
- Safety Data Sheets(SDS) – Electronic SDS Distribution Guidelines
2017 German Ink Ordiance Draft
- Printer: EPSON Model GP-C831
Label Material: Flextuff IJ-430 Synthetic Paper, BS5609 compliant. Contact Person (For Both): Ron Hicks, Tel: 1-800-843-4242, ext. 117 - Zebra 105sl (small label printer); Zebra ZT420 (large label printer)Both are typical black thermal printers. So we will have the GHS red diamonds pre-printed on our labels and black out those that we don’t need. ZEBRA ZT420 Thermal Printer (single color)
- We are using our existing black and white laser printers as we are going with the preprinted diamonds and blocking out unused ones as recommended by Denise Deeds. When we were looking at printing the diamonds on-demand we were looking at a Cannon color printer. We worked with Cannon to reduce the speed to handle label stock. Speed and heat were issues we ran into. Note this is all relative to our sheet-fed (8.5X11) label stock. We never found a good color solution for roll-fed stock.
EU Commission invites Germany to postpone ink ordinance - September 2016
- Printer: EPSON Model GP-C831
Label Material: Flextuff IJ-430 Synthetic Paper, BS5609 compliant. Contact Person (For Both): Ron Hicks, Tel: 1-800-843-4242, ext. 117 - Zebra 105sl (small label printer); Zebra ZT420 (large label printer)Both are typical black thermal printers. So we will have the GHS red diamonds pre-printed on our labels and black out those that we don’t need. ZEBRA ZT420 Thermal Printer (single color)
- We are using our existing black and white laser printers as we are going with the preprinted diamonds and blocking out unused ones as recommended by Denise Deeds. When we were looking at printing the diamonds on-demand we were looking at a Cannon color printer. We worked with Cannon to reduce the speed to handle label stock. Speed and heat were issues we ran into. Note this is all relative to our sheet-fed (8.5X11) label stock. We never found a good color solution for roll-fed stock.
Food Packaging Market and Regulatory Compliance Impact - September 2016
- Printer: EPSON Model GP-C831
Label Material: Flextuff IJ-430 Synthetic Paper, BS5609 compliant. Contact Person (For Both): Ron Hicks, Tel: 1-800-843-4242, ext. 117 - Zebra 105sl (small label printer); Zebra ZT420 (large label printer)Both are typical black thermal printers. So we will have the GHS red diamonds pre-printed on our labels and black out those that we don’t need. ZEBRA ZT420 Thermal Printer (single color)
- We are using our existing black and white laser printers as we are going with the preprinted diamonds and blocking out unused ones as recommended by Denise Deeds. When we were looking at printing the diamonds on-demand we were looking at a Cannon color printer. We worked with Cannon to reduce the speed to handle label stock. Speed and heat were issues we ran into. Note this is all relative to our sheet-fed (8.5X11) label stock. We never found a good color solution for roll-fed stock.
Food Packaging Chemicals/Substances Lists
- Printer: EPSON Model GP-C831
Label Material: Flextuff IJ-430 Synthetic Paper, BS5609 compliant. Contact Person (For Both): Ron Hicks, Tel: 1-800-843-4242, ext. 117 - Zebra 105sl (small label printer); Zebra ZT420 (large label printer)Both are typical black thermal printers. So we will have the GHS red diamonds pre-printed on our labels and black out those that we don’t need. ZEBRA ZT420 Thermal Printer (single color)
- We are using our existing black and white laser printers as we are going with the preprinted diamonds and blocking out unused ones as recommended by Denise Deeds. When we were looking at printing the diamonds on-demand we were looking at a Cannon color printer. We worked with Cannon to reduce the speed to handle label stock. Speed and heat were issues we ran into. Note this is all relative to our sheet-fed (8.5X11) label stock. We never found a good color solution for roll-fed stock.
FDA Activity
January 2016 – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the food additive regulations to no longer provide for the use of three specific perfluoroalkyl ethyl-containing food-contact substances (FCSs) as oil and water repellants for paper and paperboard for use in contact with aqueous and fatty foods because new data are available as to the toxicity of substances structurally similar to these compounds that demonstrate there is no longer a reasonable certainty of no harm from the food-contact use of these FCS:
- Diethanolamine salts of mono- and bis (1H,1H,2H,2H perfluoroalkyl) phosphates where the alkyl group is even-numbered in the range C8-C18 and the salts have a fluorine content of 52.4 percent to 54.4 percent as determined on a solids basis
- Pentanoic acid, 4,4-bis [(gamma-omega-perfluoro-C8-20-alkyl)thio] derivatives, compounds with diethanolamine (CAS Reg. No. 71608-61-2)
- Perfluoroalkyl substituted phosphate ester acids, ammonium salts formed by the reaction of 2,2-bis[([gamma], [omega]-perfluoro C4-20 alkylthio) methyl]-1,3- propanediol, polyphosphoric acid, and ammonium hydroxide