ACTEGA, a manufacturer of specialty coatings, inks, adhesives and sealing compounds for the print and packaging industry, has announced its latest achievement in meeting the stringent sustainability and product safety standards. All ingredients in the company’s FoodSafe range raw material matrix have now been assessed against the criteria of the Material Health category in the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard and as a result, the entire FoodSafe series was awarded the Gold level Material Health Certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.

This Gold level certification provides customers with further confidence in the safety of ACTEGA’s complete FoodSafe portfolio. This additional assurance enables users to not only produce legally compliant food packaging but offer brands packaging solutions that adhere to the highest material health requirements for coatings.

The certification also allows ACTEGA to develop new products or adapt existing ones to customer requirements from the tested raw material matrix, without automatically losing the FoodSafe Gold status. This affords ACTEGA much greater flexibility to meet its customers’ evolving needs whilst ensuring its commitment to sustainability and consumer safety is not compromised.

“Climate change, food shortages, plastic waste and species under threat of extinction are all negatively impacted by unsustainable packaging. The Cradle to Cradle design principle offers manufacturers a route to ensuring the products they supply are made from materials that are recyclable and environmentally friendly and, therefore, ‘healthy’. The Material Health Certification is a valuable tool for optimizing the material health of products”, explains Hans-Michael Lenz, head of QC, Environment and Product Safety, ACTEGA. “Our FoodSafe range are water-based coatings for ‘direct food contact’ packaging and, as such, environmental responsibility and consumer safety have always been a priority. However, achieving this latest certification is a clear demonstration of our resolute drive to put consumer safety and product quality first.”

The Material Health Certification uses a globally recognized methodology that assesses all raw materials within a product, and throughout its life cycle, identifying any potential health risks to humans or the environment.

In addition to compliance with strict evaluation criteria for all product components and ingredients, there are additional requirements to be mentioned. These include ensuring the product does not contain any ‘Banned List’ chemicals(2) above the relevant thresholds and that the evaluated materials are free from carcinogens, mutagens, or reproductive toxicants. All requirements described in the ‘standard for emission testing of volatile organic compounds (VOC)’ must also be met.

ACTEGA was awarded a Gold level Material Health Certificate for more than 100 FoodSafe overprint varnishes several months prior to this latest accomplishment. “That was an important first step for ACTEGA but only the start of our journey. Today, securing a Gold level certification for the entire Foodsafe range is a landmark moment. We ultimately increase the benefits it provides our customers and further cement the part we play in supporting a more sustainable future for the packaging industry,” concludes Lenz.