Mold Growth In Paperboard Packaging Adhesives
I would love to get some feedback from anyone with packaging experience, and more specifically adhesives for paperboard packaging products. It was recently brought to my attention by an employee that if adhesive production lines, better known as "finishing lines" are shut down for an extended period of time, (several days, weeks, months) mold growth will occur in the drums that hold the adhesives. A fairly common customer complaint in the paperboard packaging industry is "glue inside", which is when the adhesive is applied or migrates into areas of the packaging other than intended. With that being said, there is a potential risk involved if the adhesive that migrates into the inside of the packaging, is contaminated with mold. My first thought was, are these drums being properly sealed when production stops on a "finishing line"? I suspect that they're not in most cases. Secondly, are they're any additives (mold inhibitors) that can be added to the adhesive drums before they're sealed to prevent mold growth? I'll contact our adhesive suppliers, but I was curious if anyone had or has any experience with this? Thanks as always :-)