Siegwerk, one of the leading suppliers of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications worldwide, continues its global commitment to product and consumer safety by providing customers in Bangladesh with the highest quality products and services. Siegwerk hosted a media conference in Dhaka to create awareness among stakeholders about the adverse effects of toluene and the need to switch to toluene-free packaging inks for food safety and consumers’ health.
Siegwerk has been aware of the need for safe packaging inks for many years and has made ink safety one of its guiding principles. The company is one of the global leaders in providing product safety guidance and has an expert team exclusively dedicated to this.
Photo Siegwerk
Toluene has earned disrepute globally for its dangerous toxicological profile. The manifold adverse effects make it an issue related to consumer safety, occupational safety, and environmental safety. Due to its developmental toxicity, toluene is officially classified as CMR category 2 (suspected of damaging the unborn child) in the EU. Furthermore, when printing with toluene-based inks, there is an imminent risk of residual toluene in packaging being transferred to the packed food and beverages which impacts the organoleptic properties of the product thus leading to food quality and safety as well as legal compliance issues. The outlined concerns of toluene are the reason why global brand owners have restricted or even completely banned the usage of toluene in ink formulations intended for food packaging material of their products.
Speaking at the media conference Ashish Pradhan, president of Siegwerk Asia, said “Siegwerk has a strong commitment to safe inks for all kinds of applications and has, as a result, committed to toluene-free production in Siegwerk facilities across the globe.” Pradhan added “We have extended this commitment to our customers in Bangladesh. Siegwerk Bangladesh has been supplying toluene-free inks to customers since inception.”
