BASF claims first monomeric HALS product with food contact approval
The Germany-based company announced its Uvinul 4050 FF protects polymers from degradation thanks to its combination of HALS and UV absorbers.
“The product enables more effective stabilization of polypropylene (PP) applications with food contact,” BASF spokesman Tobias Wölfing told FoodProductionDaily.com. “To protect polymers from degradation, a combination of HALS and UV absorbers is required.”
He added that while the main area of application was for consumer goods, it was also designed for food packaging across a raft of sectors - such as vegetable and fruit crates as well as bulk bags made of PP tapes for flour and cereals.
The HALS product, which replaces the chemically identical Uvinul 4050 H, received European Union approval in 2010. It boosts compliance with increasingly stringent regulations and specifications on cross-contamination from food contact plastic applications, said the spokesman.
Within the EU, it is approved for all types of polymer and food, with a specific migration limit (SML) of 50 parts per billion (ppb). In the US, where it was approved in 2006, it has been cleared for concentrations of up to 0.25 per cent in polypropylene and up to 0.5 per cent in polystyrene. For styrene block copolymers and acrylonitrile copolymers, concentrations of up to 0.5 per cent are approved, said the company.
“Uvinul 4050 FF is the low-molecular-weight HALS with the broadest food contact approval in plastic applications,” said Klaus Koch, BASF global product manager for Light Stabilizers. “Consumers benefit from longer-lasting end products, while plastic converters no longer risk any non-food contact cross-contamination.”
The product is also supplied in a compacted pellet form which is said to improve flowability and cut dust levels during dosing.
“This new, more compact version generates considerably less dust and has better flowability than powders, making a significant contribution toward improved occupational health and safety during the compounding or masterbatching process,” said Koch.
