Non-benzene printing technology will become the mainstream of food packaging materials

Recently, the security situation of China's food plastic material packaging is very severe. Many food plastic packaging materials on the market are difficult to meet the national requirements for food safety, hygiene and environmental protection.

In recent years, the passing rate of sampling bags around the country has generally been low, and the passing rate is only 50%-60%. The reason for the failure was mainly due to excessive benzene residue. Therefore, in developed countries such as the United States, Western Europe, and Japan, it is expressly stipulated that the use of benzene-based solvents is prohibited in food packaging and printing. However, there is still no clear provision in China. In the production of food packaging film and bag production, solvents for inks and adhesives are commonly used as solvents for benzene (toluene and xylene), and they are not managed and supervised. At present, they have reached the point where relevant departments are determined to strictly manage.

Effect of Plastic Packaging Materials on Food Safety

China's plastic packaging materials, especially soft foods, and pharmaceutical composite packaging materials, have been rapidly developed in the recent 20 years. Not only are there more manufacturers, but also more varieties of products, and the quality has reached a certain level.

However, in the rapid development of the packaging industry, we have focused on the scale, output, physical and mechanical properties, resistance to high and low temperature requirements, and resistance to media erosion, while not paying enough attention to the hygienic safety performance of packaging materials.

Therefore, many manufacturers of composite packaging materials have unsafe and unsafe hidden dangers in the procurement, use, and production of raw and auxiliary materials, as well as the detection of finished products; many food and drug manufacturers have adopted Considering the health and safety impacts of packaging materials and human body, the packaging materials only pay attention to fastness, strength, appearance and price, and are most concerned about the presence or absence of odors.

The inks printed on the composite packaging bag are mostly organic solvent-based gravure inks containing toluene and xylene. Among them, there are two aspects that have a close relationship with food hygiene or human health:

The first is benzene solvents. It is not allowed to use in the GB-9685 standard, but the actual situation is still being used in large quantities. This should not be the case. The boiling points of toluene and dimethylbenzene are all over 110°C. During the printing process, the drying temperature is only 70°C-80°C, rarely exceeding 90°C, and the speed is very fast. The speed is as high as 150 meters or 250 meters per minute. The solvent cannot When it is completely removed, there will always be some remaining in the ink layer. If absorbed by the body, it will damage the human nervous system and damage the body's hematopoietic function, causing vomiting, insomnia, anorexia, fatigue, decreased white blood cells, reduced resistance and other typical permanent benzene poisoning symptoms in occupational diseases (such as footwear, The luggage industry, paint industry, decoration industry, etc. occupy a large proportion.

The second is the presence of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, etc.) and aniline or fused ring compounds among the pigments and dyes used in the ink.

Lead in heavy metals can hinder children's physical development and intellectual development. Mercury can have harmful effects on the body's nerves, digestive system, endocrine system, and kidneys. It is especially harmful to the fetus and the baby and can also damage the brain and cause death. Cadmium can cause bone damage, while aniline or fused ring dyes are obvious carcinogens and pose a great threat to human health. Therefore, the harmful substances in printing inks for packaging bags have obvious and serious effects on the health effects of food and on the health of human body. In addition to base films and inks, the hygienic safety of composite adhesives is equally important. In the GB-9685 standard, only the maleic anhydride-modified polypropylene and polyurethane adhesives are allowed to be used in food packaging, while single-component pressure-sensitive adhesives using benzene as a solvent are not allowed.

Non-benzene printing technology is the future direction of packaging.

Packaging for food safety issues, packaging companies should be protected from the source of technology, non-benzene ink environmental evaluation has basically reached a non-toxic harmless, from the perspective of food safety, it should be said that a direction of development.

At present, there are more and more types of green food on the market, but many green foods are not green. Green packaging should use environmentally friendly packaging materials, printing inks and adhesives. The 21st century is a century of environmental protection. Environmental issues have become increasingly important and resources and energy have become more tense. Building a recycling economy society and taking the road of sustainable development have become the focus and urgent task of global attention, and have become the guidelines for the development of all walks of life and human activities.