23-09-13
Member news
Sappi Partners with BASF and Eurofins to Address Food Contamination Concerns
Mineral Oil Barrier (MOB) substrate makes use of recycled paper in packaging materials safer
Brand owners are increasingly seeking new sustainable packaging materials that address concerns about migration of mineral oil and other contaminants into food from cardboard packaging containing recycled paper. Sappi has partnered with BASF and Eurofins to bring to market innovative Mineral Oil Barrier (MOB) coated papers. These innovative flexpack grades solve the contaminant migration problem whilst allowing the environmentally sustainable use of recycled content in packaging materials.
In the past, food migration issues have arisen as a result of cardboard packaging materials containing recycled fibres for which one of the primary raw materials is newspapers. Newspaper printing inks, as well as many commercial printing inks, contain mineral oil as solvents. Because the printing ink components are not completely removed during paper and cardboard recycling, mineral oil components can remain in the fibres. If these substrates are used for food packaging applications, the mineral oil components can migrate from the cardboard into the foodstuffs, even when foodstuffs are protected by an inner bag. Printing inks used for printing packaging materials can also be a source of mineral oil contamination.
MOB Kraft and MOB Gravure, developed in partnership with coating specialist BASF and testing Lab Eurofins, are paper grades with a Mineral Oil Barrier protecting the contents from mineral oil compounds that are a complex mixture of saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and unsaturated hydrocarbons (MOAH), which are suspect to be carcinogenic. The development process took more than a year and included several pilot coater and mill trials to ensure the best possible results.
MOB Kraft for inner bags combines Machine Glazed Bleached Kraft (MGBK) paper with the MOB barrier on the reverse side. It is available in 80gsm to 120gsm. MOB Gravure has been designed for gravure printed primary packaging such as pouches, sachets, bags and wrappers and is available in 95gsm to 140gsm, incorporating a blade coating on the top side for gravure printability with the MOB barrier on the reverse side to protect the packaged product.
Both papers provide an excellent surface for application of additional barrier layers – be it dispersion coating or extrusion lamination.
"One of the technical challenges of this innovation is the realisation of a homogeneous coating layer which covers the pre-coated paper substrate for hundred percent. Small defects in the coating layer have an immediate impact on the quality of the barrier function. This requires first of all an extreme smooth and low porous base paper covered with a low porous and good covering pre-coat." said Jos Lycops, Senior Product Specialist, Sappi Central R&D
“Another challenge was to find an operating window on the coating machine to apply the barrier layer without blocking on the reel “ adds Jos Lycops.
BASF applied its deep understanding and knowledge of chemistry to develop new coating solutions that could address this issue. “The challenge was to develop an aqueous dispersion polymer system that could provide the required barrier; form a good, defect-free film at given parameters; and not block on the reels,” said Thomas Steinmacher, Application Technology of BASF. “This required balancing film forming versus blocking behavior to get the optimum formulation. Our long-standing relationship with Sappi and close cooperation on this project allowed us to bring this unique solution to market in a reasonable timeframe.”
To determine the effectiveness of the barrier coating against migration of MOSH/MOAH, we worked with Eurofins Consumer Product Testing GmbH, an international bioanalytical service provider that focuses on testing and analysis of food, pharma and environmental samples as well as consumer products. Eurofins executed a 3-month testing cycle on behalf of BASF. These and other tests have proven, that the BASF/Sappi developed MOB coated papers prevent mineral oils from migrating from recycled cardboard and folding cartons into foodstuff during typical shelf lives of affected food stuffs. “We have performed hundreds of mineral oil measurements over the last three years based on strict standards established by the German Federal Institute in Risk Assessment,” said Dr. Andreas Grabitz, Technical Sales Manager Packaging Materials, Eurofins. “This enabled our highly qualified staff to design a test tailored to the specific requirements of this project. Prior to this test, regulatory officials in the food industry believed that migration of mineral oils could only be safely inhibited by using functional barriers such as inner bags. The tested material from BASF was the first directly-applied coating that showed appropriate barrier properties.”
”Through this partnership, we have been able to solve a problem that is becoming increasingly critical in the packaging market,” said Rosemarie Asquino, Sappi Specialities Sales and Marketing Director. “Brand owners and converters will be able to take advantage of the performance and strength of Sappi grades, preventing migration of mineral oil, whilst also keeping their environmental footprint optimal by using outer packaging materials that include recycled paper or board. With our new MOB coating, this is possible without any risk of food contamination from those recycled fibres.”
“We have already had our first customer request for the new MOB paper for dry food product pouches to replace the currently used PVDC-coated variant which is expensive and contains chlorine chemistry,” adds Rosemarie Asquino. “Other brand owners in the food product arena have also shown a very high level of interest in our MOB paper development project. We anticipate that there will be good uptake on these grades as they are increasingly made available to the marketplace.”
The Sappi MOB Kraft and MOB Gravure grades are aimed at the sugar, chocolate and confectionery, coffee and tea, crisps, snacks and nuts, dried and dehydrated foods and frozen food and ice cream markets.
Both Sappi MOB Kraft and MOB Gravure grades will be presented at FachPack 2013 on the Sappi Stand 604 in Hall 7. Eurofins is also exhibiting at FachPack on stand 301 in Hall 5.
Brand owners are increasingly seeking new sustainable packaging materials that address concerns about migration of mineral oil and other contaminants into food from cardboard packaging containing recycled paper. Sappi has partnered with BASF and Eurofins to bring to market innovative Mineral Oil Barrier (MOB) coated papers. These innovative flexpack grades solve the contaminant migration problem whilst allowing the environmentally sustainable use of recycled content in packaging materials.
In the past, food migration issues have arisen as a result of cardboard packaging materials containing recycled fibres for which one of the primary raw materials is newspapers. Newspaper printing inks, as well as many commercial printing inks, contain mineral oil as solvents. Because the printing ink components are not completely removed during paper and cardboard recycling, mineral oil components can remain in the fibres. If these substrates are used for food packaging applications, the mineral oil components can migrate from the cardboard into the foodstuffs, even when foodstuffs are protected by an inner bag. Printing inks used for printing packaging materials can also be a source of mineral oil contamination.
MOB Kraft and MOB Gravure, developed in partnership with coating specialist BASF and testing Lab Eurofins, are paper grades with a Mineral Oil Barrier protecting the contents from mineral oil compounds that are a complex mixture of saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and unsaturated hydrocarbons (MOAH), which are suspect to be carcinogenic. The development process took more than a year and included several pilot coater and mill trials to ensure the best possible results.
MOB Kraft for inner bags combines Machine Glazed Bleached Kraft (MGBK) paper with the MOB barrier on the reverse side. It is available in 80gsm to 120gsm. MOB Gravure has been designed for gravure printed primary packaging such as pouches, sachets, bags and wrappers and is available in 95gsm to 140gsm, incorporating a blade coating on the top side for gravure printability with the MOB barrier on the reverse side to protect the packaged product.
Both papers provide an excellent surface for application of additional barrier layers – be it dispersion coating or extrusion lamination.
"One of the technical challenges of this innovation is the realisation of a homogeneous coating layer which covers the pre-coated paper substrate for hundred percent. Small defects in the coating layer have an immediate impact on the quality of the barrier function. This requires first of all an extreme smooth and low porous base paper covered with a low porous and good covering pre-coat." said Jos Lycops, Senior Product Specialist, Sappi Central R&D
“Another challenge was to find an operating window on the coating machine to apply the barrier layer without blocking on the reel “ adds Jos Lycops.
BASF applied its deep understanding and knowledge of chemistry to develop new coating solutions that could address this issue. “The challenge was to develop an aqueous dispersion polymer system that could provide the required barrier; form a good, defect-free film at given parameters; and not block on the reels,” said Thomas Steinmacher, Application Technology of BASF. “This required balancing film forming versus blocking behavior to get the optimum formulation. Our long-standing relationship with Sappi and close cooperation on this project allowed us to bring this unique solution to market in a reasonable timeframe.”
To determine the effectiveness of the barrier coating against migration of MOSH/MOAH, we worked with Eurofins Consumer Product Testing GmbH, an international bioanalytical service provider that focuses on testing and analysis of food, pharma and environmental samples as well as consumer products. Eurofins executed a 3-month testing cycle on behalf of BASF. These and other tests have proven, that the BASF/Sappi developed MOB coated papers prevent mineral oils from migrating from recycled cardboard and folding cartons into foodstuff during typical shelf lives of affected food stuffs. “We have performed hundreds of mineral oil measurements over the last three years based on strict standards established by the German Federal Institute in Risk Assessment,” said Dr. Andreas Grabitz, Technical Sales Manager Packaging Materials, Eurofins. “This enabled our highly qualified staff to design a test tailored to the specific requirements of this project. Prior to this test, regulatory officials in the food industry believed that migration of mineral oils could only be safely inhibited by using functional barriers such as inner bags. The tested material from BASF was the first directly-applied coating that showed appropriate barrier properties.”
”Through this partnership, we have been able to solve a problem that is becoming increasingly critical in the packaging market,” said Rosemarie Asquino, Sappi Specialities Sales and Marketing Director. “Brand owners and converters will be able to take advantage of the performance and strength of Sappi grades, preventing migration of mineral oil, whilst also keeping their environmental footprint optimal by using outer packaging materials that include recycled paper or board. With our new MOB coating, this is possible without any risk of food contamination from those recycled fibres.”
“We have already had our first customer request for the new MOB paper for dry food product pouches to replace the currently used PVDC-coated variant which is expensive and contains chlorine chemistry,” adds Rosemarie Asquino. “Other brand owners in the food product arena have also shown a very high level of interest in our MOB paper development project. We anticipate that there will be good uptake on these grades as they are increasingly made available to the marketplace.”
The Sappi MOB Kraft and MOB Gravure grades are aimed at the sugar, chocolate and confectionery, coffee and tea, crisps, snacks and nuts, dried and dehydrated foods and frozen food and ice cream markets.
Both Sappi MOB Kraft and MOB Gravure grades will be presented at FachPack 2013 on the Sappi Stand 604 in Hall 7. Eurofins is also exhibiting at FachPack on stand 301 in Hall 5.