Coloured food packaging, containers and kitchenware must meet food-contact rules. Colourants are only part of the picture, but they are often asked about first.
India
IS 9833 lists pigments and colourants for plastics in contact with foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and drinking water, and is referenced together with the plastics standards for food-contact materials.
European Union
Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 sets the rules for plastic food-contact materials, including overall and specific migration limits. Colourants are not on its Union list, but they must comply with the framework Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, and the Council of Europe Resolution AP(89)1 is widely used for purity criteria such as heavy metals and aromatic amines.
What this means in practice
- Suitability depends on the final article: polymer, food type, temperature and contact time
- The converter is responsible for the declaration of compliance of the final article, based on information from suppliers
- Ask your masterbatch supplier for a statement covering the specific grade and the intended use
