Siegwerk India introduces toluene-free inks for printing on packaging

Siegwerk is a family unit-endemic, 180-year-old company. "Siegwerk is not listed on any stock substitution and is a family-run company. So, our decisions are non typically driven by the quarter-to-quarter existence of nigh multinationals that are listed on the stock substitution; our determination making is a lot more long term," said Ashish Pradhan, chief executive officeholder of Siegwerk Bharat.

Siegwerk manufactures inks for packaging, labels and catalogs worldwide. Information technology has established 15 centers of excellence and blending corners in more 30 national subsidiaries to ensure that printing inks are made according to customers' requirements.

Recently, Siegwerk India introduced its toluene-costless inks to the Indian market. In India, the inks usually used for printing on flexible packaging are solvent-based inks and contain toluene. Toluene is a solvent that is hands available and is relatively cheap. Toluene is widely used for printing purposes to achieve meliorate printability and also considering it evaporates chop-chop. It occurs naturally in crude oil and is also found in the Tolu tree. However, the solvent has earned disrepute globally for its bad toxicological profile.

On flexible packaging, ink is typically printed on the reverse side of the film, which is and then sandwiched so that the food product inside the package doesn't come in straight contact with the ink. Nevertheless, there are cases where contaminants with lower molecular weights easily laissez passer through the plastic material since information technology doesn't have the barrier backdrop that a glass bottle or a metallic can does. This increases the take a chance of toluene coming in direct contact with nutrient.

"Now, let u.s.a. talk about the effects of toluene. If you await at toluene in general, it can easily cantankerous the blood brain barrier. Then, if toluene is inhaled in big quantities, information technology can affect the way in which your brain functions. The effects of toluene include hallucinations and headaches among others. In the U.s.a., 3 to iv% of teenagers use toluene as a drug to go a high," Pradhan added. "The workmen working on a printing shop-flooring are exposed to a lot more toluene than consumers are in full general. All this tin easily draw us to a decision that toluene is hazardous depending upon its exposure. And the bad news continues; toluene likewise affects the organoleptic properties of food. If toluene comes in direct contact with the food textile, it affects the taste of the nutrient and has an impact on the odor likewise. These are just some of the affects that I'1000 highlighting, the list goes on."

According to Pradhan, virtually of the flexible packaging in the market today is "not quite prone to toluene exposure. It is not a major risk today. The steps beingness undertaken to reduce toluene exposure today are a part of risk mitigation. Almost all packaging in India satisfies the rules laid downwardly by FSSAI. However, when we talk about risk mitigation, there is always a chance of something going incorrect in a value chain. There is also a possibility of risk mitigation plan failure. And for toluene, the only foolproof solution is run a risk-emptying."

Toluene has been banned in various countries including Communist china and Sri Lanka. Recently, FSSAI too recognized the need for implementing regulations on packaging inks, which has also led to Siegwerk India and the other global ink companies in India to come up with the idea of introducing toluene-gratuitous inks to the Indian market.

"We desire FSSAI to list toluene amongst the other contaminants considering at the end of the day, it's a risk that we need not take equally there is technology available where toluene need not be used. We were using toluene in India till last year but from now, in an attempt to continue our global commitment to product and consumer prophylactic by providing highest quality products and services, we are introducing toluene-free inks to India," Pradhan concluded.

As y'all join us today from India and elsewhere, we have a favour to enquire. Through these times of ambivalence and challenge, the packaging industry in India and in most parts of the world has been fortunate. We are now read in more than than 90 countries as our coverage widens and increases in impact. Our traffic as per analytics more than doubled in 2022 and many readers chose to back up us financially even when advertising fell to pieces.

As nosotros come up out of the pandemic in the side by side few months, we hope to once more expand our geography and evolve our high-impact reporting and authoritative and technical information, with some of the best correspondents in the industry. If in that location were e'er a fourth dimension to support us, information technology is now. You tin can ability Packaging Southern asia's balanced industry journalism and help to sustain us past subscribing.

Subscribe Now

bartonsursity.blogspot.com

Source: https://packagingsouthasia.com/packaging-production/siegwerk-india-introduces-toluene-free-inks-for-printing-on-packaging/