14-04-16
Member news
EXTENDO® High Barrier Films Protect Food Against Mineral Oil Migration
Mineral oil contamination of foodstuff is increasingly drawing the attention of the media. Even though an EU regulation is not in force yet, major European food distribution chains have requested a protection of packed food against mineral oil from their food producers. Taghleef Industries reiterates that its High Barrier BoPP films EXTENDO® range protects food against mineral oil migration.
Contamination of food with mineral oils has been recognized and has opened a debate between distribution chains and food producers in Europe. In question are the levels of Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons (MOSH) and Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH). Aromatic substances, which can be detrimental for human health, are rising particular concerns. The values found are so critical that it is very likely that national and European regulations will be put in place in the near future.
The matter is so serious for food producers and consumers that solutions are required to be adopted quite quickly. “A significant source of dietary exposure to MOH may be contamination of food by the use of recycled paperboard as packaging material. Functional barriers offer one solution”, as stated by the European Food Safety Association (EFSA, 2012-2013): “It (MOH contamination) can be effectively prevented by the inclusion of functional barriers into the packaging assembly”.
Taghleef Industries (Ti) takes the importance of safety and consumer protection very seriously when it comes to engineering food packaging. As a pioneer in this matter, in 2013 Taghleef Industries already proved the excellent barrier properties of EXTENDO® films against mineral oil migration with a study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging in Freising, Germany.
The study confirmed that EXTENDO® BoPP films provide an extremely high barrier against mineral oils, preventing their migration from recycled paper and carton overwraps into packaged food. EXTENDO® BoPP films deliver a similar or better protection offered by polyester and perform significantly better than Acrylic and PVDC-coated BoPP films.
Due to the protected barrier layer the EXTENDO® BoPP films are extremely robust for printing, laminating and slitting processes. In addition, EXTENDO® BoPP films offer superior product protection for aromas and flavours and ultra high barrier against oxygen. They can be used in almost all applications for food packaging: biscuits, cookies, cereals, nuts, dry products, powdered drink mixes, and are also ideally suited for secondary packaging in medical applications. They open up opportunities for packaging weight reduction for both fresh as well as dry foods. EXTENDO® BoPP films are easy printable like standard films.
Contamination of food with mineral oils has been recognized and has opened a debate between distribution chains and food producers in Europe. In question are the levels of Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons (MOSH) and Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH). Aromatic substances, which can be detrimental for human health, are rising particular concerns. The values found are so critical that it is very likely that national and European regulations will be put in place in the near future.
The matter is so serious for food producers and consumers that solutions are required to be adopted quite quickly. “A significant source of dietary exposure to MOH may be contamination of food by the use of recycled paperboard as packaging material. Functional barriers offer one solution”, as stated by the European Food Safety Association (EFSA, 2012-2013): “It (MOH contamination) can be effectively prevented by the inclusion of functional barriers into the packaging assembly”.
Taghleef Industries (Ti) takes the importance of safety and consumer protection very seriously when it comes to engineering food packaging. As a pioneer in this matter, in 2013 Taghleef Industries already proved the excellent barrier properties of EXTENDO® films against mineral oil migration with a study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging in Freising, Germany.
The study confirmed that EXTENDO® BoPP films provide an extremely high barrier against mineral oils, preventing their migration from recycled paper and carton overwraps into packaged food. EXTENDO® BoPP films deliver a similar or better protection offered by polyester and perform significantly better than Acrylic and PVDC-coated BoPP films.
Due to the protected barrier layer the EXTENDO® BoPP films are extremely robust for printing, laminating and slitting processes. In addition, EXTENDO® BoPP films offer superior product protection for aromas and flavours and ultra high barrier against oxygen. They can be used in almost all applications for food packaging: biscuits, cookies, cereals, nuts, dry products, powdered drink mixes, and are also ideally suited for secondary packaging in medical applications. They open up opportunities for packaging weight reduction for both fresh as well as dry foods. EXTENDO® BoPP films are easy printable like standard films.
Abstracts of the Fraunhofer report and aroma barrier measurements from FlavoLogic are available on demand.