More than just ink

More than just ink! The risk of food labeling and packaging migration lies in these production stages

From the perspective of printing companies, food labels and packaging printing cannot tolerate even the slightest error. The "error" mentioned here is not just a few printing defects, but refers to the migration of harmful substances in the materials used in the printing process (mainly ink and substrate), which can adversely affect the food itself or consumer health.

For this reason, the industry has introduced various material grading standards to screen compliant raw materials. Regarding ink categories, they are mainly divided into food-contact grade inks. Previously, the industry referred to it as "low-migration ink," but now it is uniformly named compliant migration ink.

In the field of food labeling and packaging printing, although the industry's overall understanding of food contact material (FCM) ink systems continues to improve, there are still common shortcomings and operational misconceptions in key areas such as migration risk awareness, production control, regulatory implementation, and responsibility allocation, which directly affect food packaging safety and compliance.

In this article, the author shares some common risks of migrating inks for food labels and packaging printing, as well as key points for compliance control, to help printing companies further deepen their understanding of ink systems for food contact materials.

The four major risks of ink migration

Ink migration in food label and packaging printing inks is not limited to a single form; the industry is generally known for its penetration migration, where ink components penetrate through the substrate onto the printed back. In addition, there are three core migration risks that require comprehensive prevention and control.

The first is overprinting migration, mainly occurring during the rewinding of printing rolls, finished product stacking, logistics, and warehousing processes, where the print face contacts the back of another substrate, causing material migration contamination.

The second is vapor migration: during food heating, chemical components in the packaging ink and coating volatilize due to heat, forming gaseous particles that come into contact with the food, causing contamination.

The third is steaming extraction migration, where during food steaming and sterilization processes, core components of ink and coating are precipitated and extracted, causing harmful substances to come into contact with the food inside the packaging.

Common Misconceptions About FCM Ink Compliance

Currently, although industry insiders generally recognize inks for food contact materials, there are still some misconceptions, namely insufficient understanding of the supporting production processes required to reduce migration risks. Many people often overlook one point: simply meeting the ink standards does not count as a fully compliant food contact material. The ink must be used with a specified substrate to meet food contact standards. That is, the choice of packaging substrate directly determines whether the entire package is suitable for food scenarios.

At the same time, ink curing and drying, as well as the iterative updating of raw materials, are also easily overlooked factors, and these hidden dangers often arise unnoticed. Inks specifically designed for food labels and packaging must be thoroughly dried and fully cured. When companies replace packaging substrates and auxiliary materials to control costs, if they do not sufficiently assess the barrier performance and safety attributes of the substitute materials and ignore the safety logic of the original material selection, the safety protection capability of packaging will be greatly reduced, undermining the original compliance system.

Additionally, many printing companies have a common misconception about compliance responsibilities for food labeling and packaging, believing that ink manufacturers can complete the entire process with a compliance certificate, and that the core of actual compliance testing is the final finished product packaging, not the single ink raw material. Currently, only a few companies worldwide can strictly implement regulatory requirements, adhere to regular compliance testing, and select matching compliant materials.

Global regulatory iterations continue

At the regulatory level, relevant regulations are constantly being updated and iterated. New cross-industry entrants must pay special attention to regulatory requirements, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and product testing to ensure printed product compliance.

Although printing manufacturers and brands can mostly collaborate to ensure packaging meets relevant standards, revisions to existing regulations and the implementation of new regulations can easily trigger compliance risks. The EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) is a typical example. The core goal of the regulation is to reduce plastic use by replacing plastic packaging with coated paper and cardboard. The directive clearly prohibits the use of acrylic emulsions, polyurethane emulsions, and similar materials for compliant packaging coatings, and only allows the use of natural polymer materials that have not undergone chemical modification, greatly increasing the difficulty of formula research and production for high-performance barrier coatings.

The compliance requirements for food labeling and packaging printing are complex, with the core goal ensuring that the materials used in printing do not migrate into the food inside, thereby altering the flavor or smell of the food, compromising food safety, and damaging its composition and quality. Meanwhile, regulations in various countries and regions continue to change, further increasing the difficulty of implementing compliance. Currently, there is no unified global regulatory standard for food packaging inks. The mainstream industry references are the "Swiss Printing Ink Regulation" and the "Guidelines for Non-Contact Surface Printing Inks for Food Packaging" issued by the European Printing Ink Association (EuPIA). The "German Printing Ink Regulation" will fully take effect in January 2026. Compared to Swiss regulations, Germany's new regulation covers all scenarios including direct food contact, foreseeable contact, and indirect contact, and may become a core compliance reference standard for cross-border packaging printing in many countries in the future.

Full-process production control

Printing companies must thoroughly understand product application scenarios and conduct risk assessments on the products they are printed on. The regulation targets the final packaged product, not just the ink. Companies must establish professional compliance teams and strictly implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

Of course, many influencing factors are beyond the control of printing companies. Even if design, ink, and substrate selection are all minimized to avoid migration and contamination risks, if there are lapses in control, printing factories will still cross the red line of food packaging regulations. During practical operation, the following control points require special attention:

First, although the formula for food contact material inks is developed according to standard printing parameters (printing speed, ink coating density) set by equipment manufacturers, these parameters change with use, so migration indicators must be regularly retested to continuously ensure compliance.

Second, printing and processing enterprises need to carefully evaluate the barrier properties of substrates, regularly maintain curing equipment, and ensure the normal operation of curing lamps.

Third, fully implement good production practices. Enterprises with the necessary conditions are advised to use dedicated printing machines to produce low-migration ink products, which not only eliminates cross-contamination but also reduces downtime losses caused by order changes and cleaning.

Fourth, standardize warehousing and material transfer processes to reduce migration risks. Strong odors in storage areas, air pollutants such as vehicle exhaust can seep into some substrates, triggering migration; When printed products are stacked and stored, the print surfaces come into contact with each other, which can also cause overprinting migration. Enterprises must strictly control all types of harmful substances in contact with food surfaces and establish sound control mechanisms.

In addition, printing consumables are also included in compliance controls. Auxiliary materials such as cleaning liquids and offset printing printing solutions, as well as workshop cleaning standards and production batch coordination, all of which affect the compliance of finished products. Residues from production of non-compliant materials in the previous batch and inadequate cleaning at workstations can both lead to excessive chemical content in finished ink products, triggering compliance risks.

In summary, compliance control for food labeling and packaging printing cannot be achieved by meeting standards for a single material; it is a full-system engineering process spanning design, material selection, production, equipment, and warehousing. With global regulations tightening and deplasticization reforms deepening, printing companies must clarify migration risks, clarify responsibilities, implement refined production controls, keep up with new regulations, and improve risk assessment and testing systems to fundamentally avoid compliance failures, ensure product safety, and ensure stable connections with domestic and international markets. ...