How end-consumer concerns drive raw material innovation in food packaging Michaela Hofbauer* 1, Lionel Spack 3 * 1 Eastman Chemical Company, Global Market Leader 3 Nestlé Europe, Senior Packaging Expert
Passion for consumer trust Consumer trust is the level of confidence consumers have in the performance of the product versus the communicated promises Source: Nestlé
But what if we start questioning Is this food safe? What is in this? Is this package safe? What chemicals are used to make this package? Why does it smell funny?
Relevant food packaging issues a 25 year overview Mineral oils in jute sacs 1991 1996 1997 2003 2005 2008 2009 2010 2012 2015 2016 BADGE from metal coating Mineral oils from printed paperboard SEM, ESBO from metal closures ITX from UV-printing Bisphenol A from PC and epoxy lacquers Benzophenone from printing inks Mineral oils from printed /recycled paper Bisphenol: A New National Legislation frameworks TNPP: trisnonyphenyl phosphite in PE Mineral oils from printing inks ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT ONE??? Source: Nestlé
In a value chain that looks like this Adhesive Delivery Equipment Packaging Equipment Pygas, C9 Resin Oil DCPD AMS Resins (tackifiers) Waxes Formulated Adhesive Company Contract packager Brand owner Retail Consumer PIPs Polymers Distributor Gum Rosin Additives Coating/Ink Packaging Converter Distributor Substrate Manufacturer (Carton, Aluminum)
Managing food safety: the value chain is a challenge Knowledge of chemicals Chemicals Monomers, pigments, antioxidants, UV-stability, solvents Base Materials Adhesives, inks, plastics, glass, cans, papers, boards Finished Packaging Additional contributions of the different parts Complexity Food products Interaction between food and packaging Source: Nestlé
The technical partnership with pilot suppliers Benefit for consumers Technical assessment Safety consideration Interaction with food Sensorial requirement Safety evaluation New technologies Material Development Issues Early Warning Corrective actions Agreement on limits in packaging materials Ban on substances Issue prevention Set of standard Source: Nestlé
Case study: Tackifiers for packaging HM in the light of the European mineral oil debate
How are Mineral Oils defined? Why are they problematic? Mineral oils are complex hydrocarbon mixtures derived either from petroleum stocks, or synthetically from coal, natural gas or biomass. Mineral oils contain typically an Aromatic fraction: Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH) Aliphatic fraction: Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons (MOSH) Both fractions are giving health concerns for humans: MOAH fraction may contain polycyclic aromatic compounds which are carcinogenic MOSH fraction may bio accumulate in the body; the impact on human health is not yet fully clear
Selecting HM raw materials Designing for safety 1. No mineral oil 2. Low odor No cause for off taste 3. Low migratables No chemicals in food 4. Healthy No harmful ingredients, known toxicological profile 5. Clean No impurities, NIAS (Non Intentionally Added Substances)
An impossible task for us as a tackifier supplier? Tackifier resins typically contain a significant low MW fraction that might migrate into food. Tackifier resins typically contain a multitude of substances, that cannot be identified individually. Tackifier resins are giving false positive responses in typical European test methods for mineral oil! How can we make sure that what we sell is safe in its intended application?
What can we do? Keep quiet? Talk to our regulatory & legal experts? Hide behind regulations? Blame our customers?
What we can do Product safety Toxicological testing Follow EFSA protocol for the EU plastics regulation Evaluate bioaccumulation with the help of pharmacokinetic studies on radio-labelled material We evaluate the complex mixtures that our materials are as a whole
What we can do Support our customers with information Compositional disclosure Making sure all value chain players are able to investigate the possible migration of our products Providing detailed information to the regulatory departments for their assessment While we cannot disclose all information in the public domain, we can still enable our customers and our customers customers to evaluate the risk of exposure.
What we can do Anticipate problems Think through and work with the value chain Through the value chain, our products get exposed to processing circumstances While we cannot guarantee quality throughout the value chain, we can anticipate on potential issues and communicate Investigating factors like odor and composition after thermal exposure can help avoid surprises at the end of the value chain.
What we can do Innovate.. We created two new pure monomer grades with improved toxicological profile and stability, targeted for critical food contact applications Our Kristalex resins typically undergo several processing steps before they are used in a food contact applications. We improved the stability of our material such that further processing is possible without significant effect on the quality of our product. 100 SP grade Targeted at packaging HM adhesives based on EVA and m-pe 140 SP grade Targeted at heat seal lacquers, TPE s and specialty PSA
Food contact PMR resins packaging grade
Food contact PMR resins high SP grade
Advantages of new PMR resins for food contact applications Very low residual monomers and solvent Lower risk of migration, available toxicological information on oligomers Clearly different from mineral oil, easy to differentiate from MOAH Residual monomer content on COA Improved odor, low risk of influencing odor or taste of packaged food Improved stability with lower risk of degradation during further processing in the value chain
Future Outlook Compatibility Color Odor Stability aliphatic aromatic H2HCR +++ +++ +++ PMR +++ ++ ++ C5 + + 0 C9 - - - <----------------> <-----> <------------> <-------> Rosins + 0 0 <-------> The global food packaging market will be growing at GDP plus over the coming years due to increased automation of food packaging and growth of packed food High quality raw materials for packaging are growing significantly above that rate due to their low risk profiles Collaboration across the value chain to warrant food safety and avoid packaging issues or recalls, will be key to the success of our industry
This presentation is protected by International copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, display and use of the presentation without written permission of the speaker is prohibited. Eastman Chemical Inc. 2017