With the German Printing Ink Ordinance (GIO) set to apply from January 2027, manufacturers of printing inks for food packaging are facing strict regulatory requirements aimed at ensuring consumer safety. Compliance with these regulations demands extensive development work, reformulation and thorough testing across product portfolios.

Nonetheless, the international ink specialist hubergroup Print Solutions confirms it already fully complies with the German Printing Ink Ordinance today. All hubergroup products intended for food packaging applications meet the requirements defined by the GIO.

The German Printing Ink Ordinance is a regulation for printing inks within the German Consumer Goods Ordinance and the Cosmetics Regulation on food packaging to ensure a high level of consumer protection through strict control of the substances used in printing inks and coatings. Originally, an update was scheduled to enter into force at the beginning of 2026, but the German Federal Council postponed the deadline to December 31, 2026. hubergroup has systematically prepared for these requirements and has already completed the necessary adjustments across its entire relevant product range.

Full GIO compliance across the food packaging product portfolio

“The new German Printing Ink Ordinance will come into force in January 2027 – at hubergroup, we are already complying with it a year ahead. We are delighted to announce that all our products for food packaging are GIO-compliant,” says Alessandro Moresco, consumer care manager and product safety expert at hubergroup.

Compliance applies without exception to the full food packaging portfolio: Gecko flexo and gravure inks and varnishes, MGA conventional sheet-fed inks, NewV Pack MGA UV-curable sheet-fed inks and varnishes, ACRYLAC MGA water-based varnishes, HYDRO-X GA water-based inks as well as varnishes, and the iray MGA UV flexo inks.

By meeting the regulatory requirements well ahead of their application, hubergroup underlines its commitment to product safety, regulatory reliability and long-term partnership with customers in the food packaging value chain. Printers, converters and brand owners benefit from a high level of planning security and proven solutions that already fulfill future legal requirements.