‘Print, Pack, Fold’ – Automation, precision and value addition

Mark Christian Hogan, managing director, Heidelberg Graphic Equipment, spoke about the new restructured postpress division of the company. Photo PSA

Letter from EnglandThe United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland seeks to manage health risks in illegal imports of food packagingAbsence of global food packaging legislation arouses concern especially in the U.k.'south food service sector that products imported from outside the European Marriage can potentially fail to run into national and European food-contact standards then equally to pose a chance to businesses and consumers. A  competition upshot that is undermining user confidence in levels of safety and hygiene, and moves to improve compliance overall and grab offending imports earlier they reach the Great britain market, were topics recently highlighted at a UK plastics packaging industry forum conducted by the British Plastics Federation (BPF).Absence of global food packaging legislation arouses business especially in the UK'due south food service sector that products imported from exterior the European Union tin can potentially fail to encounter national and European food-contact standards so as to pose a gamble to businesses and consumersWhen eating on the get, consumers volition ofttimes eat directly from the packaging, and for safety and hygiene reasons retailers and business concern operators must be able to buy packaging and packaging materials, including imports, with confidence. Simply due to weaknesses in procedures for testing non-EU imports and scaremongering in the press and media, with Bisphenol A beingness one of a string of examples, "There is no conviction in what is coming in," said Richard Inns, director of packaging consultancy, PEC Partnership.

Michael Gao of Masterwork talked almost the partnership with Heidelberg and the machines and solutions that Indian customers can look forward to. Photo PSA

Food contact packaging legislation
Based on his team'south report of food contact packaging legislation in 68 unlike countries, Inns concludes that Codex Alimentarius "has failed to develop an international construction for packaging."

"Canadian efforts are not working," he said.Speaking at the BPF headquarters in London, Inns expanded on the causes and consequences of what he calls a regulation 'mess.' "There are ten systems of packaging regulation globally, with many national variations. Risk of non-compliant packaging being used arises when external regulation seems to match EU requirements merely does not. There are already wide discrepancies between the manner European union states interpret packaging regulations and a growing tendency for EU countries to impose their ain regulations that may be more rigorous than others."

Multiple Codes of Practice be in Europe for specific industry sectors, only the contents are "unlikely to be known to the non-adept," Inns said. Packaging food contact legislation is complex and difficult for minor and medium sized companies (SMEs) to follow and "the supplier has to aid a customer through the maze."

Thomas Gohl, Asia Pacific sales manager for IST Metz was at paw to dispel the confusion regarding the various UV technologies that are being offered by different sheetfed press manufacturers. Photograph PSA

Not-compliant imports
Poor control over potentially non-compliant imports makes the situation worse, said Inns. The governmental Uk Food Standards Bureau prepare a dedicated unit in 2022 to tackle crime in the food industry. The Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) in U.k. is lobbying for packaging safe to be office of the Food Crime Unit of measurement (FCU) remit, "to provide a greater threat to those who might exist tempted to import packaging that doesn't meet legal requirements."

Lorenzo Angelucci, managing manager at Seda UK, a supplier of paperboard and plastics-based containers and cartons and flexibles said, "In the last six years nosotros have seen a progressive and significant expansion of non-European nutrient packaging business volume in Europe, in the UK in particular." He added that products are coming mainly from the Far East and the U.s., which are lower grade and generally cheaper.

Seda Group is working with European and UK packaging industry bodies to raise awareness of health and safety risks in having non-aligned rules of compliance. "Red china has more or less a similar legislation infrastructure to Europe," noted Angelucci, "but for four main requirements – Heavy Metals, Migration Test, Optical Brightness and Positive List. The test application refers to the 'food contact layer but." This could potentially exclude the printed side of carton-based packaging products where a large part of the contamination risk can occur."

Seda wants a "central difference in what is classed equally food approved in the Great britain and EU, versus not-EU countries" to be considered past the authorities as a potential risk in terms of nutrient contact.  The suggestion is for a statistical percentage of non-EU imported packaging to be sent for lab analysis to assist ensure compliance with Uk legislation, managed at border control stage or with systematic market place surveillance. However, procedures for testing must be ruled by audio scientific discipline because, in the words of Angelucci, "Market surveillance can be dangerous for a company if assay is incorrectly washed."

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