Risks Associated with Bottle Neck Label Printing
Hi guys,
During our last audit we were asked if we printed labels for bottle neck application.
The answer was no, which we followed with the question why?
The auditor pointed out that there could be a risk of ingestion via the mouth touching the label when drinking :thumbdown: (personally I prefer a glass) :rolleyes:
Guess what? We have just received an enquiry to print neck labels :yeahrite:
So, what to do? I can't see anything in v5 of the standard & can't really see any need to do anything special tbh.
Has anyone else encountered this before? Should I just cover it off with risk assessment?
We are Low cat - non direct contact & printing flexo.
Its an interesting one for sure. Your product is not coming into direct contact with food (beverage) and I agree I don't believe the standard covers this situation that a consumer may put your packaging into contact with their mouth. If you follow the decision tree in the standard (I can't remember it off the top of my head) then I don't think it will lead to you changing your risk level.
As a matter of interest what kind of inks are you using and what are the labels made from?
Regards,
Simon
If the bottle is refillable, then risk assessment is required. Any harmful material in the ink may leach under high temperature and other conditions while washing.
Simon, we would normally use water based flexo ink with a UV cured over varnish.
Following much debate here, I think we will quote the job on a digital press instead. Data sheets for these toners state 'food
grade'. We will just need to ensure we source an over varnish that is also food grade.
Our retrospective risk assessment will reflect this decision.
Poulami, I believe glass bottles here in UK are now generally crushed & recycled rather than washed for re-use.
Thanks for the feedback Scrumpyone...looks like you solved it in the best way possible i.e. Remove the Hazard (if it ever was one) :smile:
Regards,
Simon