1. Printing Inks: Environmental and Safety Aspects
Which questions are responded during the presentation:
How does mineral oil get into food
What is the impact of the printing ink on this?
Does ecolabels help to make food packagings safer?
What are the options to avoid migration of mineral oil into food?

2. Mineral oil in foodstuffs
Discoveries of traces of mineral oil are regularly reported in the media.
Image source : Tom Kleiner / pixelio.de
Applied printing inks are often mentioned as contributory materials.
Image source: hubergroup
Introduction  Traces of mineral oil are regularly reported in the media (e.g. advent calendars)
 Applied printing inks are often mentioned as contributory facts
 Reason enough for VdL (=German Paint and Printing Ink Association) to examine the subject in detail

3. Mineral oil in foodstuffs
Consumers are unsettled by alleged risks for environment and health.
emotional discussion
Printing ink manufacturers know the chemical and actual technical background and interrelations.
rational arguments
skitterphto.com
hubergroup
Determination: very emotional discussion, because printing inks and print products are said to be responsible for health risks and environmental risks  Target: factual description

4. Mineral oil in foodstuffs
EuPIA Exclusion Policy already consider many facts beyond legal conditions:
Printing ink is safe - even without any eco label!
Image source KBA
Image source : aok
Image source : KBA
Print shop
Consumer
Personnel
EuPIA exclusion politics already prohibits the use of toxic and dangerous substances and already considers many facts beyond legal conditions / demands
Message 1: We take care for personnel, consumers and user = reader
 Message 2: Printing ink is safe even without any eco label

5. Statutory provisions REACH Mineral Oil Ordinance (draft)
Raw materials classification
Mineral Oil Ordinance (draft)
Food packaging
Printing Inks Ordinance (draft)
New statutory provisions to expand and complement the regulations are planned/ are implemented
last step of REACH
possibly stronger classification of raw materials
Mineral Oil Ordinance and Printing Ink Ordinance (both drafts so far)
both explicitly deal with food packaging

6. Selection of proper printing ink
Various printing ink formulations are available for different applications.
Not every printing ink is suitable for every application.
The printing ink manufacturers will gladly give advise.
Image source : frugola / pixelio.de
Due to the enormous variety of demands on the market, the German printing ink manufacturers offer more than ink formulations.
Not every printing ink is suitable for every application
 The printing ink manufacturers will gladly advise

7. Eco labels for print products
Image source:
Image source:
Image source:
Go beyond the statutory requirements
Eco labels for print products
Eco labels go beyond the statutory requirements
 Brief summary for EU Ecolabel, Nordic Ecolabel, RAL UZ 195 (=Blauer Engel)

8. Eco labels for print products
Recyclability
Deinkability must be proven
Exclusion of undesirable substances
PVC, chrome-plated metals, adhesives containing DIBP
Substances classified as CMR, toxic or dangerous for the environment
Print shop
Limited emissions
Prepress demands
Paper waste
Energy management
Eco labels: Summary
All eco labels have in common:
Recyclability, exclusion of undesirable substances (cmr = carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction)
Exclusion policy comprises a lot of these demands
Reference to the appropriate documents

9. Eco labels for print products
Substrate
Paper with EU Eco Label
Newspaper with EU Eco Label
Print product
Usability
Information on the product
Information in the EU Eco Label
Raw materials
Prohibited: Sheet-fed inks with cobalt drying agents, Gold metallic inks based on copper bronze
Specifics of individual eco labels:
special requirements, e.g. mineral oils free from aromatic hydrocarbons (Germany), chlorine-free pigments (Austria), cobalt-free (both)…
Printing ink industry provides suitable products for every eco label

10. Eco labels for print products
Substrate
Paper with „Blauer Engel“
Raw materials
No genetic engineering
No destruction of primeval forests
Prohibited: all normal mineral oil-based offset inks, cobalt-containing sheet-fed inks, Gold metallic inks

11. Eco labels for print products
Substrate
Eco label or controlled by Nordic Swan
Print product
Print quality (ISO 12647)
Raw materials
Limits for heavy metals
Restriction for aromatic amines
No cobalt drying agents

12. Where does the mineral oil come from?
Recycled cardboard
Gunnysacks
Inappropriate use of printing inks with mineral oil
Background level
Particulate matter
Lubricating oil or hydraulic oil
Lubricating greases
Image source : stock.tookapic.com
Mineral oil has been found in food stuffs
It has been observed that the oil originates from the packaging
It has been observed, that recycled cardboards and partially mineral oil-based printing inks were used
Only one pathway  many other pathways
Recycling cardboard
Gunny sacks
defectively used printing inks with mineral oil
Background level (combustion processes, e.g. energy production, vehicle exhaust gases)
Fine dust, particulate matter
Lubricating oil / hydraulic oil from harvest machinery
Lubricants / greases at food production …

13. Packaging design Recycled cardboard without functional barrier
Image source : hubergroup / stock.tookapic.com
Waste paper contains many particles that may not get into the food stuff;
important example is mineral oil
 therefore relevant when recycled cardboard is used in food packaging

14. Packaging design ü appropriate printing ink ü functional barrier
stock.tookapic.com
Recycled cardboard is critical when used in food packaging without a functional barrier, because of possible migration of undesirable substances

15. Supplier to the market is responsible!
Packaging design
Supplier to the market is responsible!
This is no primary problem of the printing ink but the responsibility of the supplier of the packaging
 high demands to packaging design

16. Mineral oil in printing inks
Fundamentals for an objective discussion about mineral oils:
Clean definition
Standardised analytics
Toxicological evaluation
Image source : hubergroup
In the discussion about mineral oil, we miss:
clean definition
standardised analytics (containing errors),
reasonable toxicological evaluation

17. Mineral oil in printing inks
Example MOAH = “aromatic hydrocarbons”
Generic term for a chemical class with totally different characteristics and applications of which only a small part is critical to health.
Variety of aromatic components which are harmless and even beneficial for people.
Example: „aromatic hydrocarbons“ (MOAH) is a generic term for a chemical class with totally different characteristics and applications of which only a small part is critical to health
There is a variety of aromatic components which are harmless and even beneficial or essential for people
 Example: amino acids, Aspirin

18. Mineral oil in printing inks
Discerning the real risk potential of mineral oil.
Printing ink manufacturers only use raw materials that are harmless for the reader/user (when properly applied).
Image source : visualphotos.com
Printing ink manufacturers only use mineral oil in printing ink
that is harmless to health and safe for the user/reader of a print product
even when the ink contains aromatic substances
 Mineral oils aren’t per se „evil“

19. Mineral oil in printing inks
Example MOSH = “aliphatic hydrocarbons from mineral oils”
Like MOAH, MOSH aren’t suitable for foodstuff.
There are specially produced inks series for such applications like food packaging printing.
„Aliphatic hydrocarbons from mineral oils“ (MOSH) aren‘t suitable for foodstuff as well
 therefore printing inks manufacturers offer special products for food packaging printing

20. Mineral oil in printing inks
The printing ink industry is engaged in providing safety and environmental protection.
Printing inks and print products are safe! With or without any eco label.
Ink system must be suitable to the particular application.
Recycled cardboard is not suitable for food packaging even without certain printing ink components.
Functional barrier necessary when using recycled cardboard.
For decades, the printing ink industry is engaged in providing safety and environmental protection
Printing inks and print products are safe! With or without any eco label
Ink system must be suitable to the particular application
Recycling cardboard is not suitable for food packaging even without certain printing ink components like mineral oil or aromatic components from the oil
Currently, there is no alternative than to add a functional barrier when using recycled cardboard for food packaging