Food Grade Ink/Equipment
Can anyone assist me with this? We're currently reaching out to our suppliers to obtain compliance letters and/or information regarding food safe product options. One of the suppliers that we reached out to was a video jet equipment/ink supplier. We're a paperboard packaging company and we use video jet to print promo codes/etc. on the inside of the carton. Our central stores/purchasing representative had this to say (See Below) after communicating with this particular supplier. Basically what this supplier is saying is that we can't simply purchase food grade inks for this system and convert it. They said we would have to completely purchase a new piece of equipment which I find extremely difficult to believe. Why couldn't this system be flushed out with a cleaner and then converted? Thanks as always for your help!
Good News/Bad News
GOOD NEWS
ID Technology
They do sell food grade Ink/Makeup/Solvents that would* work in our current printers
Videojet
They do sell food grade Ink/Makeup/Solvents but they won’t* work in our current printers
BAD NEWS
*They both have stated the same Mantra. The FDA will not give Food Grade Certification if the equipment being used has run Non-Food Grade Inks/Makeup prior. In order to get certification they must be new (not purged) printers.
Can anyone assist me with this? We're currently reaching out to our suppliers to obtain compliance letters and/or information regarding food safe product options. One of the suppliers that we reached out to was a video jet equipment/ink supplier. We're a paperboard packaging company and we use video jet to print promo codes/etc. on the inside of the carton. Our central stores/purchasing representative had this to say (See Below) after communicating with this particular supplier. Basically what this supplier is saying is that we can't simply purchase food grade inks for this system and convert it. They said we would have to completely purchase a new piece of equipment which I find extremely difficult to believe. Why couldn't this system be flushed out with a cleaner and then converted? Thanks as always for your help!
Good News/Bad News
GOOD NEWS
ID Technology
They do sell food grade Ink/Makeup/Solvents that would* work in our current printers
Videojet
They do sell food grade Ink/Makeup/Solvents but they won’t* work in our current printers
BAD NEWS
*They both have stated the same Mantra. The FDA will not give Food Grade Certification if the equipment being used has run Non-Food Grade Inks/Makeup prior. In order to get certification they must be new (not purged) printers.
Dear skredsfan,
Not my knowledge base but you are clearly venturing into a murky area, legal-wise. Seemingly various shades of grey exist. It looks relevant as to the exact status of ink regarding direct / indirect contact.
The obvious suggestion IMO is to simply ask yr suppliers the reference validation for their comment about ink change-over.
The primary reference is apparently 21CFR 170-189. This is not seemingly available on-line except as part-by-part.
( http://www.accessdat...r/cfrsearch.cfm )
You may find the attachments / link below interesting but they do not unfortunately answer yr specific FDA query.
Hopefully someone else here knows the practical FDA situation.
http://www.flairpack...01/Ink Safety/2
ss1 - Printing ink, global regs 2006.pdf 142.04KB 40 downloads
ss2 - Printing inks, USA, FAQ - NAPIM.pdf 156.29KB 36 downloads
ss3 - printing inks USA, 1990, FDA Compliance Myths.pdf 717.29KB 41 downloads
Rgds / Charles.C
The only way to validate this is by conducting migration tests on product that has been produced on the purged system. Maybe the ink jet people have already done this and proven that they cannot get the system fully clean. Seems a bit doubtful though.
Regards,
Simon
Dear skredsfan,
After the presentation on US Packaging Regs and the comments in other thread, (eg no.2 in
http://www.ifsqn.com.../#entry62610 )
one gets a feeling that someone may have been "having you on" a little ?.
Back to validation request perhaps ?
Rds / Charles.C