Gabriel-Chemie launches service to provide optimum packaging materials for sensitive foodstuffs

Gabriel-Chemie has introduced a new service that will see it test raw materials and masterbatch to ensure it is fit for use in packaging for sensitive contents.

The new ‘Pure’ service, which was officially launched at the Fakuma trade fair in Germany in October, uses two acknowledged industry-standard testing methods to test both incoming and outgoing materials for properties that would lead the packaging they are used for to affect the taste or smell of the contents inside.

The first testing method is for NIAS (Not Intentionally Added Substances) Evaluation using modern gas chromatography. Following the launch of Pure Gabriel-Chemie is capable of in-house analysis of raw materials to test for the existence of NIAS that may cause sensory issues, such as an off-taste.

If unknown substances are found in the chromatogram, they are analysed in detail using mass spectroscopy, in close cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Germany. If the detected substances pose a potential sensory risk, the raw material is blocked. When all raw materials have been approved and released, the production can start and a certificate including a detailed evaluation of the raw materials is issued.

Secondly, after successfully passing the NIAS evaluation, the approved raw materials are used to manufacture masterbatch in the test laboratory, from which injection-moulded parts are produced. These samples are then stored and treated in selected reference liquids - such as still water from a standardised brand - and the liquids are then blind tested by humans for flavour deviations, known as an ‘organoleptic’ evaluation. The sensitive human sensory organs serve as a reliable measuring instrument and Gabriel-Chemie uses a specially trained sensory panel to examine and assesses the smell and flavour of the liquids in a complex organoleptic evaluation process lasting several hours. As a result, plastics converters receive a detailed test report and profile in which the organoleptic approval of the products is documented.

In addition, Gabriel-Chemie is supplying estimated concentration information relating to Specific Migration Limits (SML) above and beyond the legal obligation outlined in EU Regulation 10/2011 in order to facilitate an easier analysis for customers.