The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has issued an updated version of its standard for determining color fastness in food contact paper and board that is dyed. Published in November 2018, EN 646:2018 replaces the 2006 iteration of the standard.

EN 646:2018 ‘Paper and Board Intended to Come into Contact with Foodstuffs – Determination of Color Fastness of Dyed Paper and Board’, contains several important changes, of which stakeholders should be aware. These include:

•    Revising and extending the scope of food contact paper. Now includes:
•        Testing of food contact dyed paper and board
•        Visual evaluation against grey scale for bleeding
•        Some procedures are dependent on the foreseeable use of food contact materials
•    New definition for (unstained) glass fiber paper, includes a pH-value of 9.0 to 9.5 (ISO 6588-2) as one of the conditions
•    Replacing ‘saliva simulant’ with ‘alkaline salt solution’ for reagent
•    Expansion of the number of test condition procedures from two to four (A to D):
•        A.     Long Duration Contacts: (23 ± 2) °C for 24 hours
•        B.     Medium Duration contacts: (23 ± 2) °C for 4 hours
•        C.     Short duration contacts: (23 ± 2) °C for 10 minutes
•        D.     Hot Contacts:
•            Fatty food - (120 ± 3) °C for 0.5 hours in oil
•            Moist food - (90 ± 3) °C for 0.5 hours in water
•    Evaluation only against gray scale

EN 646:2018 requires Member States to withdraw conflicting national standards by May 2019. Stakeholders are now advised to check their products conform to the latest European standard.

SGS Food Contact Material Services

SGS’s technical experts have extensive experience of testing materials and articles in contact with food. They can ensure that your products meet the appropriate regulations for food contact materials and pave the way for compliance. SGS offers the full range of testing, including migration tests, along with expert advice on emerging regulations, compliance issues and documentation review. Learn more about SGS’s Food Contact Material Services.

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