At this year's annual meeting the participants decided to hold the VFV Lecture Event 2012 in April under the chairmanship of Dr. Derra.

Due to recent events, we caution against a new certificate forgery.

We would like to emphasize that the certificate of compliance no. 28354 U 11 for the barcode ribbons of the company

HANGZHOU TODAYTEC DIGITAL CO.LTD
8-1003, JinDU Hua Ting, 153 zhaohui Road
HangZhou China

was not issued by us and the product was not analysed or even certified by us.

Thus we urgently caution against using the product in the field of food packaging since untested products often contain impermissible contaminants.

ISEGA does not assume any liability for damages incurred by this forgery.

It is empty flattery indeed if ones products enjoy such a high regard on the world market that they are forged by Chinese companies.

It can even be dangerous if consumer protection is violated. ISEGA from Aschaffenburg, Germany, is an accreditated product certification institute for materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs as well as medical products.

With the forged certificate no. 37258 U 08, the Chinese company KMC Ent. Group Limited tries to market their product JAMBRO Sterilization wrap as a germ-proof packaging material for medical products suitable for sterilization.

This statement is false and not backed by accredited analyses performed by ISEGA. We seriously caution against the use in hospitals and the medical field.

ISEGA does not assume any liability for damages incurred by this forgery.

If you too have received a suspicious certificate of compliance, here are some points to check whether you might be dealing with a forgery:
- On the title page of the certificate you can find the accreditation logos and in the background the ISEGA-sigil "Produktsicherheit mit Brief und Siegel"
- The certificate has a uniform font size and the owner of the certificate is stated on the title package with the full address.

Around the middle of 2011, a round robin test is planned to ascertain the validation data for the DIN 58953-6: 2010 „Sterilization – Sterile supply – Part 6: Microbial barrier testing of packaging materials for medical devices which are to be sterilized“.

If you are interested, please consult this document (pdf) for further information.

In connection with the annual general meeting, the VFV has once again hosted the conference "Trends on food packaging 2010" on 12 April 2011. The participation of more than 140 persons showed that this year's topics found an interested audience. The group of participants spans the product chain from raw material producers to packers alsoincluding packaging manufacturers.
If you have missed the events but are interested in the conference documentation, it can be subsequently ordered here.

According to the rapid alert system for food and feed, muesli products packed in UV-printed folding boxes have been detected with elevated contents of benzophenone and 4-methyl benzophenone.

Photoinitiators are employed as starting substances in UV-curing printing inks or lacquer systems. If the packages are printed on the exterior side a set-off of these substances onto the food contact side may occur during the storage in staples or on reels enabling the substances to subsequently migrate into the foodstuffs. In case of packages with an inadequate barrier effect against volatile compounds, photoinitiators may also migrate through the packaging material.

The latest screening analyses into TENAX conducted by ISEGA have shown that both substances are not contained in any relevant quantities in board grades made of recycled fibres. This study is currently being expanded over various production sites in Europe.

Benzophenone is subject to a specific migration limit (SML) of 0.6 mg/kg foodstuffs. However, 4-methyl benzophenone is a toxicologically not sufficiently evaluated substance. For the INREKA-project, the analysis method has been validated so far that the toxicological requirements of 10 µg/kg foodstuffs for 4-methyl benzophenone are achieved.

In Dr. Derra's presentation you will be informed about the state of the evaluation of recycling material in the context of the GMP regulation based on current discussions with the authorities.

The current wording of the Regulation is focused on plastics and the topic printing inks (ITX) in contact with foodstuffs. The goal of the Regulation to help avoiding the contamination of the month will not be reached with the present wording.

However, the lecture simultaneously explained under which conditions ISEGA is currently certifying the conformity with the GMP Regulation for our customers.

Who does not know that? It is winter and you have caught a bad cold. Your nose keeps running for two days straight and is already sore from constantly having to blow your nose. Understandably, everyone now prefers a paper handkerchief as soft as possible.

How fortunate for us consumers that ÖKO-TEST has now examined tissues. However, the chance for a scientifically substantiated evaluation has clearly been lost. read more (Full article in German language only)

Please note: Due to technical reasons, we have changed the password to our customer service section. If you have not received the new password yet, please contact us.

The long announced and much discussed 4th Amendment to the Directive 2002/72/EC relating to plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs has finally been passed now with the Commission Directive 2007/19/EC of 30 March 2007 (for download in our customer service section).

Important innovations are, apart from the updating of the substance lists for monomers and additives, the introduction of a fat reduction factor for foodstuffs with a fat content of more than 20 % and the official publication of specific limitations on the use of phthalates.

Also the findings from the ITX issue, namely that using 50 % ethanol as food simulant for milk and dairy products comes closest to real-world conditions as has been practiced for quite some time in our laboratory, have also been published as modifications of the Directive 85/572/EEC.

Your usual contact persons in our house are of course at your disposal if you have questions on how this new Directive may pertain to your analyses and certificates.

The standards series DIN EN 71 on the safety of toys was extended by part 9 in May 2005 . This part covers risks originating from the organic-chemical compounds contained in toys. These are for instance plasticisers, primary aromatic amines and colorants.

You can now find a non-printable pdf-version of the German law for the reorganisation of the foodstuffs and feedstuffs law in our customer service section.
The new law also has consequences for our certificates. For intofmation on how to update your certificates please contact your usual contact person in our house.