Siegwerk, a leading global supplier of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, headquartered in Germany, plans to launch mineral oil-free inks in India for packaging purposes.
The inks supplied by Siegwerk from its plant at Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) will not contain mineral oils as an intentionally added substance that comprises two fractions — Mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and Mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH).
Over the last three years, Siegwerk has taken up a pioneering initiative to remove the usage of another harmful substance — Toluene — from its manufacturing process.
Mineral oils are not a chemically well-defined substance but a highly complex group of various hydrocarbons that are mainly derived from crude oil. Packaging inks are a mixture of various ingredients and some of these chemicals are able to migrate through the packaging material into the foodstuff.
Ashish Pradhan, President, Siegwerk India and Greater China, in a statement said, “Although the extent of impact on foodstuff is undetermined by the migration of mineral oil from the packaging, research states that mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons chemicals are likely to be easily absorbed by different tissues in human organs. Siegwerk champions the cause of Toluene-free inks in India and now Siegwerk intends to offer mineral oil-free inks, thereby raising the bar on packaging safety and offering further advancements in terms of consumer safety.”
The most crucial purpose of food packaging is to keep the contents and consumers safe.
