Tetra Pak bans inks that might have tainted food for a decade

By Elaine Watson

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Tetra pak Printing Food

Tetra Pak bans inks that might have tainted food for a decade
Chance find in Italy pinpoints long-term contamination from chemical in food packaging ink

The chemical found in Nestlé’s infant milk in the autumn may have been tainting food products for a decade, Tetra Pak has admitted.The revelation came as Nestlé was forced to recall millions of litres of infant formula in Spain, Italy, Portugal and France after tests conducted by a regional authority in Italy detected trace levels of isopropyl thioxanthone (ITX) in infant milk produced at its factory in Sevares, Spain.

The presence of ITX is linked to UV inks used in offset printing, a technique Tetra Pak said had been used widely in the food industry for more than a decade.

When asked whether ITX might have been tainting food products over the same period, a spokeswoman said: “That is a possibility that I cannot deny. It hasn’t been determined. But the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has already said that ITX does not harm human health at the levels detected.”

Although ITX is not prohibited for use in food packaging, Tetra Pak would use non-UV ink in future, said the company. “The decision to switch to printing methods that don’t use photo-initiators in products where there is potential for migration has been taken as a precautionary measure.”

Nestlé added: “This type of packaging has been around for 10 years without generating a single complaint. Chances are that other companies have been using it as well.”

Sources in the packaging trade said UV inks were used very widely because they dried quickly. One source said: “I find it very unlikely that ITX would only be in Nestlé products given how widely used UV inks are. ITX is virtually insoluble in juices, but in fatty foods like infant formula, I can see how it could migrate into the product.”Another source said: “UV inks are more expensive, but they dry more quickly through curing rather than by evaporation and are immediately stable. However, there have been some environmental concerns about their use in recent years.”

The reason for the migration was that packaging sheets were rolled up and the ink on one layer came into contact with the underside of another layer, which in turn came into contact with food, he said.EFSA said that while “undesirable”, the levels of ITX detected in samples from Nestlé did not represent a health risk. However, it would publish preliminary advice in early December and a final assessment by next spring.

Nestlé declined to comment on whether it or Tetra Pak would pick up the estimated £1.1-1.7m bill for the recall

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