SGS : New European Standard for Fastness of Fluorescent Whitened Paper and Board for Food Contact

CEN has published EN 648:2018 for the determination of the fastness of fluorescent whitened paper and board intended for food contact. Conflicting national standards are to be withdrawn by May 2019 at the latest.

SAFEGUARDS | Hardgoods NO. 030/19

In November 2018, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) published EN 648:2018 'Paper and board intended to come into contact with foodstuffs - Determination of the fastness of fluorescent whitened paper and board.'

This new standard supersedes EN 648:2006 and contains several important changes. These include, inter alia, the following:

• Revising and extending the scope of food contact paper
• New definition for (unstained) glass fiber paper
• Replacing 'saliva simulant' with 'alkaline salt solution' as simulant
• Expanding the number of test condition procedures from two (A and B) to four (A to D)

According to the new standard, conflicting national standards are to be withdrawn by May 2019 at the latest.

Major highlights of EN 648:2018 and a comparison with EN 648:2006, are summarized in Table 1.

EN 648 'Paper and Board Intended to Come into Contact With foodstuffs - Determination of the Fastness of Fluorescent Whitened Paper and Board'
Version	2018	2006
Scope	Testing of food contact fluorescent whitened paper and board Use of four procedures (A to D) for long, medium, short and hot contacts Provides procedure for large samples (Annex A)	Testing of food contact fluorescent whitened paper and board Use of two procedures (A and B) for long and short food contact applications
Reagents	Alkaline salt solution	Saliva solution
Test Conditions	Procedure A - Long Duration Contacts: (23 ± 2) °C for 24 hours	Procedure A - Long Duration Contacts: (23 ± 2) °C for 24 hours
	Procedure B - Medium Duration Contacts: (23 ± 2) °C for 4 hours	-
	Procedure C - Short duration Contacts: (23 ± 2) °C for 10 minutes	Procedure B - Short Duration Contacts: (23 ± 2) °C for 10 minutes
	Procedure D - Hot Contacts: (120 ± 3) °C for 0.5 hours in oil for fatty food (90 ± 3) °C for 0.5 hours in water for moist food	-
Unstained Glass Fiber Paper	New definition includes a pH-value of 9.0 to 9.5 (ISO 6588-2) as one of the conditions	Definition includes a capillary rise of 190 nm to 210 nm in 10 minutes (ISO 8787) as one of the conditions
Evaluation	UV-lamp	UV-lamp
Remark	Procedure A covers procedures B and C, and Long-time duration for hot contact is covered by A and D	-
Effective Date	Conflicting national standards are to be withdrawn by May 2019	Most current - active

SGS technical experts have extensive knowledge and testing experience in materials and articles in contact with food. They work to ensure that your products meet the appropriate regulations for food contact materials and pave the way for compliance. From overall migration test to expert advices on emerging regulations and compliance issues and documentation review, SGS is the partner to trust. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information or visit our website.

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