Provalin offers solution to plasticizer issue

The PVC seals of a metal vacuum closure contain a proportion of between 20% and 40% plasticizer. Products containing a high proportion of oil are particularly affected by transfer of plasticizer into the food, since plasticizers are soluble in oil. Sauces, fish products in oil, pickled vegetables or cheese in oil must therefore be considered particularly at risk.

The EU has long set up and developed an extensive set of rules: but the numerous amendment guidelines, positive lists for additives and monomers, specified limit values for individual substances as well as the requisite extensive declarations of conformity represent a major challenge. A study across Europe presented by the Cantonal Laboratory of Zürich and the Stuttgart Chemical and Veterinary Research Office found that most products exceeded the migration limit of 10 mg/dm2 according to EU Regulation 10/2011. About 30% of the glass jars with fat-containing contents exceeded this limit, in about 21% of the samples the excess was significant. Only 10% of the products examined were under the limit. In 40 cases ESPO was found, 23 cases showed DEHT with an excess of the limit. Even forbidden plasticizers were found in some of the examined products.

Despite the fact that there has been a reliable solution available for this quandary since 2011: the innovative PROVALIN^? sealant material, PVC, phthalate or other worrying plasticizers are excluded. This has been confirmed by numerous long-term studies. Concentrating on PVC-free solutions also makes sense considering that not only the maximum limit has to be adhered to for global migration but also exactly defined specific migration limits referring to individual plasticizers listed in the regulation (EU) 10/2011 (PIM) e.g. ESBO, PAD, AMG, ATBC, DBS, DINCH, DOTP, Phthalate and DEHA. If, for example, some of these plasticizers contain a PVC material, the objective is not only to adhere to the respective limit value for the specific migration of individual plasticizers but also to observe the limit value for the sum of all specific migrations. This is not only a regulatory feature – it can also prove to be an obstacle with a result as indicated in the study referred to above. Provalin, a sealing material for glass jars which has been developed and patented by ACTEGA DS, was designed to avoid such results.