Paper industry commits to eliminating mineral oils in packaging

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Mineral oils that can be found in recycled packaging papers are to be phased out across Europe.

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) and the International Confederation of Paper and Board Converters in Europe (CITPA) have agreed a Europe-wide commitment to phase out the use of printing inks based on mineral oils for printing paper and board packaging, and mineral-oil based process chemicals for food contact paper and board packaging material.

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Both CEPI and CITPA have said that no scientific studies have taken place as yet to see whether mineral oils cause harm to human health, but they take the issue seriously and so are deciding to implement self-regulation in the absence of scientific or regulatory guidance.

The organisation said that in some cases a reduction of up to 90 per cent mineral oil levels has been observed in the last 24 months.