Safe inks: The missing piece in India’s sustainable packaging puzzle

Takkar repeatedly emphasised that for a truly responsible ecosystem, safety and sustainability must be equally prioritized, especially under India's evolving regulatory landscape.

Takkar said, "Packaging inks, complex chemical mixtures, can pose a significant risk to consumer health by transferring harmful components—a process known as migration—into food." This threat gained international notoriety in 2005 with the discovery of the photo-initiator ITX in baby milk across Europe, a clear 'wake-up call' that established the link between packaging inks and food safety.

According to Takkar, the market-driven demand for 'non-toluene' (NT) or 'non-toluene non-ketone' (NTNK) inks can be misleading. Simply excluding a few solvents does not ensure safety. The correct standard, he asserts, is "migration-optimised inks."

A migration-optimised ink is one where every single raw material—including the binder, solvent, additives, and pigment—has been selected to ensure no component poses a risk to consumer safety. Coupled with this, the implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) is crucial, particularly to ensure proper drying of solvent-based inks and prevent residual solvents from migrating into food.

The FSSAI has significantly raised the compliance bar through its Food Safety and Standard (Packaging) Regulations. The core responsibility now rests with food business operators to ensure their packaging is compliant.

Key regulatory changes highlighted by Jatin Takkar include: A clear definition of "food grade," meaning a material must be safe for its intended use and will not endanger human health or alter the food’s characteristics. He added, "There should be a prohibition on using newspapers for wrapping food. Also, a ban on direct contact between the printed surface of a package and the food product."

Takkar said, there should be mandatory conformance of printing inks for food packages to the Indian Standard IS 15495:2004, which categorises inks based on their application (external packaging, immediate food wrappings, and direct food contact).

The drive toward a circular economy—with initiatives like thinner plastic layers, mono-material packaging, or using recycled content—presents new complications. These sustainable practices can inadvertently increase the risk of chemical migration.

In conclusion, the message from Jatin Takkar of Siegwerk is clear: Achieving a truly sustainable packaging ecosystem requires thorough due diligence in safeguarding safety. Takkar's final thoughts were "The industry must move beyond basic solvent exclusion and fully commit to migration-optimised inks, strict GMPs, and collaborative risk assessments to ensure a positive impact on both people and the planet."

Jatin Takkar's mantra for food safety: It is a collective effort, with specific roles for all stakeholders as outlined in IS 15495