The scope and specifications of green plastics used in food packaging

The physical properties, processability, economy, and safety required for green plastics used as food packaging containers are the same as those of ordinary plastics. Since polymerized lactic acid possesses these performance conditions, there is no need to add new equipment, and it can be put to practical use only by using existing molding processing equipment. With respect to economics, just as with the history of synthetic resins, technological innovations and the expansion of production scale can completely reduce production costs. It is expected that the price gap with ordinary plastics can be reduced in the future. With respect to safety, it is necessary to include the safety of the material itself, the safety of the contents of the package during use, and the safety of decomposition of intermediates and products during post-processing. In the study of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan, a security evaluation plan has been proposed, and the contents are reflected in the evaluation items of the identification and marking system.

For polymerized lactic acid, the necessary requirements and conditions for the above food packaging containers must be satisfied. When green plastic is used as a food packaging container, all countries in Europe and the United States have applied the resin as the target.

In Europe, the plastic hygiene standards that come into contact with food were published by the European Union in 1990. After the decree was gradually revised over many years, the standards for transfer testing and the standard for individual monomers, etc., have all been established. Treated like ordinary plastic, must comply with these requirements.

In the United States, food hygiene management is based on the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Specifically, it is administered by the FDA. For food packaging containers processed with newly-synthesized resins, it is applicable to the current FDA indirect food additive application regulations. In addition to the need to review the dissolution test results and toxicity reports, environmental evaluations have recently been given special emphasis. Due to different materials, lactic acid, a raw material such as polymerized lactic acid, is a recognized safe substance in food additives. Therefore, there are precedents for market development of food packaging materials and containers made of polymerized lactic acid.

In Japan, the legal system for the packaging and utensils of food containers is the Food Sanitation Law. The specific standards are based on the No. 20 Notice of 1982 issued by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the necessary changes have been made. On the other hand, the industry's independent standards formulated on chartered import orders and sanitary tests (consisting of material tests and dissolution tests) are different from those in Europe and the United States. Production companies bear considerable responsibilities. As a new material, green plastic is recorded as an article in a chartered import order, and a dissolution test and toxicity test are also required.

Source: China Chemical Network