Plastics pigment receives FDA approval

11 April 2006

BASF’s pigment preparation Eupolen PE Blue 69-1501 has received FCN (Food Contact Notification) approval from the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As a result, Eupolen PE Blue 69-1501 can be used in concentrations up to 2% in plastic items that come into contact with food, including closures for drink bottles, crates for fruits and vegetables, freezer boxes, drink cans, plastic cups and packaging films.

Whenever Eupolen PE Blue 69-1501 is used to colour plastics for materials and articles for food contact applications, the requirements and definitions in the FDA’s 21 CFR 177.1520 must be observed. The coloured materials and articles may be used up to 70 °C according to the conditions for use.

Eupolen PE Blue 69-1501 is a highly concentrated, polyolefin-based, dispersed mono-pigment concentrate. It combines the properties of a phthalocyanine pigment and excellent low-warping values with the advantages of the mono-pigment concentrate. High colour strength, good fastness to light and weathering, constant colouristic properties, good metering properties and a low-dust physical form are the characteristic features of Eupolen® PE Blue 69-1501.

Apart from the food packaging applications, Eupolen PE Blue 69-1501 is ideally suited for use in all kinds of injection mouldings. Its high level of compatibility with other pigments offers the user a large degree of flexibility with regard to colouring. Because it is supplied in a free-flowing and low-dust form, it can be processed cleanly without any problems.