Food Safety

Food safety is a topic under ever-increasing scrutiny, with a number of national associations having produced in-depth guidance for their members.

In a meeting of the FINAT Regulatory Affairs Committee with experts from inks and adhesives companies as well as representatives of national label associations, it was agreed to compile a joint information document based on the available material, with the VskE guidance used as starting point.

The first edition of the information document was produced in close collaboration with the national associations VskE (D), BPIF Labels (UK), GIPEA (I) and UNFEA (F) and launched at the European Label Forum. It contains information on EU and national legal requirements, as well as the principles behind mass transfer of substances into packaged foods and how to evaluate potential migration. Finally, the applicability and use of declarations of compliance for self-adhesive labels for food packaging are explained.

This comprehensive pan-European information document builds on the extensive work already done by the national associations. It provides members with support in the critical and complex topic of food packaging conformity.

The document, which will be updated regularly, can be downloaded by members for free from the members only section. Supplementing this document are the in-depth guidance documents available from the national associations, which offer detailed documentation to their members.

Assessment UV sensitive applications

FINAT offers its members the translated VskE tool to support assessment of UV-sensitive applications.

The tool can be used free-of-charge upon registration.

The tool offers a first indication of:

  • Potential risk for migration of ink components
  • Which UV inks and varnishes are suitable for the application
  • Whether migration tests are required
  • What printing substrates are typically used