Sappi adds Algro Guard M and Leine Guard M

It said such food migration issues have arisen as a result of packaging materials containing recycled fibres, of which one of the primary raw materials is newspapers. Newspaper printing inks contain mineral oil as solvents, as do many commercial printing inks, and during the recycling process only 90 percent of the printing ink components can be removed. 

If these substrates are used for food packaging applications, the mineral oil compounds can migrate from the cardboard into the foodstuffs, even when an inner bag is used, with dry and greasy foods such as rice, pasta, cereal and chocolate products especially affected, Sappi said.

Leine Guard M for inner bags combines machine glazed bleached kraft (MGBK) paper with the mineral oil barrier on the reverse side. It is available in 80g/sq m to 120g/sq m.

Algro Guard M has been designed for gravure printed primary packaging such as pouches, sachets, bags and wrappers, and is available in 90g/sq m to 140g/sq m. This grade incorporates a blade coating on the top side for gravure printability with the mineral oil barrier on the reverse side.

Algro Guard M and Leine Guard M protect packaged food from mineral oil compounds that are a complex mixture of saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and unsaturated hydrocarbons (MOAH). This new mineral oil barrier functionality protect food for minimum 15 months, and as there is no use of PET or aluminum it is described as a ‘sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost-effective material’.

Test have also shown that the grades offer a barrier against aroma and grease.

René Köhler, flexpack product group manager at Sappi Fine Paper Europe, said: ‘The integrated solution of mineral oil barrier functionality combined with excellent heat sealing properties minimise converting process steps and considerably reduce costs in the supply chain.’

Developed in partnership with BASF and Eurofins, Sappi Algro Guard M and Leine Guard M, will become commercially available from the beginning of June.