Ensuring food safety is a crucial task for all industry players along the supply chain. The packaging industry plays a vital role in this, as its products shield off the foodstuff from external influences. At the same time, packaging producers must ascertain that no chemicals under discussion migrate into the food from the packaging itself. They need to determine the risks and prove their products’ safety. But how to do it?

As a global leader in the adhesives market, Henkel is supporting its customers with its comprehensive Food Contact Statements (FCS) for its adhesive solutions. These documents provide detailed information on the results of Henkel’s thorough risk assessment. They are part of Henkel’s continuing efforts in enabling the food safety of its customers’ products.

“Proving the safety of food contact materials is a challenging task,” states Monika Tönnießen, Manager Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs at Henkel, explains: “Adding to the complexity of the risk assessment itself is the fact that there is no specific legislation for each group of food contact material available on European level. When it comes to adhesives, several different regulatory provisions are therefore to be taken into consideration. Our Food Contact Statements provide an overview as well as detailed information, offering both the transparency and reliability our customers need.” Henkel creates its FCS in accordance to the recommendation of the European adhesives association FEICA (Fédération Européenne des Industries de Colles et Adhésifs).

Proving food safety 
Following its credo of sharing its knowledge with the different members of the supply chain, Henkel’s Food Contact Statements are highly detailed: The most important part of the document is the Specific Migration Limit (SML) table with all the specifically restricted substances. In this table, all migratable substances, which are out of Henkelʼs production stage control, are listed. This also applies to substances considered as “dual use” additives. The FCS inform customers about possible application limits of the respective Henkel product, about test methods for chemicals under discussion such as primary aromatic amines, and offer them guidance on the different responsibilities for food safety along the supply chain. Results from migration tests, worst-case calculations and toxicological assessments are included here as well.

Another chapter of the Food Contact Statements is dedicated to non-intentionally added substances (NIAS). This information particularly supports the customers in their detailed compliance work. NIAS are generally understood to be chemical compounds that occur in a product, although they were not actively added to it during the manufacturing. According to Tönnießen, Henkel’s FCS can thereby help avoid, or at least reduce, time consuming and expensive testing for the evaluation of the final product.

Understanding Food Contact Statements
Food safety in general, and Food Contact Statements in particular, are highly complex. To support its customers and partners, Henkel has set up a comprehensive information platform available at henkel.com/foodsafety.

Additionally, Henkel is offering a webinar on Food Contact Statements on October 25th, 2017. In this webinar, Dr. Monika Tönnießen will focus on the Food Contact Statements, explaining their set-up and informing on how to read and apply them. To enable participation from different time zones, the webinar will be held twice, at 9:00 a.m. CEST and 4:00 p.m. CEST. “There is a growing demand for safe packaging driven by an increasing awareness on food safety,” Tönnießen points out. “For us, our Food Contact Statements are a crucial step in enabling our customers to cater to this need.”