Siegwerk expands Ink Safety Portal services and resources

Ink Safety Portal was first launched in 2017 and offers customers a diverse collection of key elements relating to safe printing inks and safe food packaging. It has been created as an expert platform offering knowledge on crucial product safety and regulatory topics. The information includes amongst others: printing ink ingredients, regulatory affairs requirements, exposure assessments and safety evaluations. This has now been extended.

A ‘Worst Case Calculator’ allows users to determine the maximum amount of substances that could lead, in the worst case, to migrate into packaged food. The calculator offers different variables to determine the exact results: migrant name or chemical identifier, content of migrant in solid ink film, dry ink applied per square meter, area coverage of ink and surface-to-mass ratio. If the results of the worst case calculation for the packaged food unit are lower than the applicable thresholds, no further measures are required. If not, users will need to perform further refinements such as migration modeling or migration testing, for which Siegwerk’s Ink Safety Portal also offers guidance and support services.

Another new resource on the portal is a video which explains non-intentionally added substances (NIAS). This term refers to all chemical substances which are not intentionally added and do not have an intended and specific function within the ink formulation. These can be for example impurities in the raw materials, a reaction intermediate formed during the production process or a decomposition product. To ensure consumers are not harmed by any substances migrating from packaged material, all NIAS are subject to risk assessments conducted by Siegwerk product safety experts.

Dr Evert Delbanco, director of food safety and toxicology at Siegwerk, commented: ‘As consumers become increasingly critical of health-related aspects and personal well-being, more scrutiny has been placed on how products they consume are packaged.

‘With our Ink Safety Portal, we’ve created a comprehensive knowledge database bundling our expertise and making it available to customers and other interested parties.’

‘Our product safety guidance includes global regulatory initiatives, brand owner requirements and safety and risk assessments targeting raw materials to end-use applications,’ explained Dr Jörg-Peter Langhammer, vice president of global HSE at Siegwerk. ‘The Ink Safety Portal underlines the company’s claim to differentiate itself from competition through high-quality services in the field of product safety.’

Delbanco concluded: ‘Sharing knowledge with customers is just one important component of this approach. Safe and legally compliant quality products form the basis for customer trust – a key element for long-term relationships.

Ink Safety Portal can be accessed via the Siegwerk website or here.