Since January 2022, France has banned the use of mineral oils on packaging. A year later, the regulations were extended to unaddressed advertising media and catalogs for commercial promotions. From January 2025, regulations will become even stricter. They will ban mineral oils for printing intended for the general public, and new substances for packaging will also be covered by the ban.
In response to this reinforcement, Konica Minolta has had its AccurioJet KM-1e range of B2-format digital presses for packaging tested. According to the German laboratory Pica, Konica's KM-1e HD and KM-1e models with their HS101K, HS101C, HS101M, HS101Y inks meet future requirements concerning mineral oil content for secondary food packaging. (Specific regulations are set out in Decree no. 2020-1725 of December 29, specified in Articles C. 543-45-1 and D. 543 of the French Environment Code)
"This value is well below the level indicated in the guidelines" stresses the manufacturer.
Pica's report states: "No aliphatic hydrocarbons (MOSH) or aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) were detected in the specific migration analyses 23-S170-0010B to -0010D. Therefore, no transfer of mineral oil hydrocarbons from the material to food is to be expected."
Nuno Sacadura, Inkjet Business Development Manager at Konica Minolta Europe, states: â??Print providers are faced with increasingly stringent European regulations â?" many of which are now in force â?" which will have a negative impact on a growing number of companies if they donâ??t take action. Regulations concerning mineral oils on packaging are also set to become more restrictive in other countries. I therefore urge companies to contact us so that we can help them remain compliant with regulations that will become even stricter from next year."
