Carefully Consider Inks, Coatings Used For Direct Food Contact

By Jerry Napiecek, contributing writer

How can a company know if the printing on its packaging will adulterate its food product? This is a question that food companies and food packagers should always discuss with their suppliers. Unfortunately, many of the responses to their queries can be confusing or ambiguous, leaving these companies stymied.

Packagers need to understand what exactly is deemed to be a direct food-contact material and what types of materials can be used in printing inks and coatings that are applied to food packaging to minimize the risk of adulteration.

A direct food-contact substance is any material that is intended, by design, to be placed into direct contact with a food or food ingredient. If there are inks, coatings, or adhesives applied directly to the packaging surface that contacts the food, then the components of these surface coatings must be suitable for this use. Examples of direct-food-contact-printed substances include the printing on the inside of fast food french fry or sandwich cartons, paper messages inserted into fortune cookies, and games or promotional verbiage on the underside of yogurt lidding or on the inside of candy wrappers. So what can be used in these materials that will not result in adulteration of the food product?

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