Migration of itx (Isopropyl Thioxantone) from Tetra Pak Bricks into Food

Abstract

At the beginning of September 2005, itx, a photoinitiator used in uv cured ink, has been identified to have migrated from packaging to food products. Tetra Pak has identified the source of migration to be uv cured offset printing ink. The presence of itx in food packed in Tetra Pak bricks is the result of the contamination of the inner polyethylene layer of the box walls. itx can either migrate through the packaging material or it can reach the food by contact, for example, as a result of the print set-off phenomenon. Most likely, the transfer of itx was due to the physical contact between the printed outer layer with the inner layer of the packaging, whereby the ink or ink substance transfers from the print to the reverse of the adjacent sheet. Tetra Pak has committed itself to move away from this technology immediately and to use alternative printing technologies to ensure that there is no or minimal migration of itx or other substances from its packages. itx is still not on the eu’s negative list of banned substances in food nor does the World Health Organization (who) categorize it as being detrimental to human health. After an investigation in the health risks of itx following the incident, the European Food Safety Authority (efsa) concluded that the levels found in foods, “while undesirable, do not give cause for health concern.”