Germany-headquartered printing inks and coatings specialist Siegwerk has announced the launch of its mineral oil-free ink range, Vega, in the Indian market.

The company also announced that its plant in Bhiwadi will be 100% mineral oil-free from 1 May 2022. The move is in line with Siegwerk’s commitment to becoming a positive circular economy driver.

Mineral oils, as a huge group of chemicals, have earned disrepute globally for their bad toxicological profile with several research studies confirming the migration of mineral oils into the food. The uptake of specific mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOHs) is seen as a potential health hazard, as some saturated mineral oils (MOSH) may accumulate in human tissue while some aromatic mineral oils (MOAH) may even cause cancer.

In an exclusive virtual event for the launch of the mineral-oil free ink line, titled the Vega series, Siegwerk announced its achievement of 100% food safe operations in India. The launch marks the transformation of Siegwerk’s Bhiwadi manufacturing unit into a fully mineral-oil free plant.

Siegwerk has been championing the cause of safe inks in India. In an interview with PrintWeek and WhatPackaging magazines, Ashish Pradhan, president, Siegwerk Asia (then CEO) had said, “Siegwerk is a responsible company and has the vision of supplying the safest inks worldwide. We keep ourselves updated on any potential reclassification of chemicals including the very recent classification of photoinitiators. We are committed to complying with the EuPIA exclusion policy, which debars us from using any materials classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction under the provision of the policy.”

While announcing the launch of Vega, Ramakrishna Karanth, CEO, Siegwerk India sub-continent, said, “In the past few years, scientific journals have published analyses on the hazardous effects of mineral oil MOHs and MOSH in food packaging. The manifold adverse effects make it an issue related to consumer safety and occupational safety. We at Siegwerk nurture an inflexible safety culture with focused commitment to improve end-consumer and environmental safety.  As a market leader for safe inks and as a strong proponent of safety, we have proactively stopped the use of toxic ingredients before any legislations on their prohibition are established. Siegwerk India will henceforth be supplying inks that do not contain mineral oils from its blending centres in India”.

Pradhan unveiled the new line of mineral-oil free inks. The ink series consist of Vega Prorich, Vega Impression, Vega Nature LT, Vega Sprint, Vega Vibrant+ and Vega Prime ink lines – which cater to their respective specialisations.

Ashesh Mukherjee, vice president and business head of the sheetfed business at Siegwerk India, said, “The Vega line is the brainchild of Siegwerk’s key principles such as innovation, safety and the ability to offer superior products and services. Vega embodies rich colour strength, excellent printing quality with dot sharpness, brighter colour share and high gloss and excellent drying properties, all set to transcend consumer expectations. With Vega, we set out on a journey to ensure safety of our supply chain partners as well as the end consumers.”

A surprise addition to the mega launch was renowned cricket commentator and management consultant Harsha Bhogle’s presence as the special guest speaker at the event. Packaging converters took the opportunity to ask questions to Bhogle about management lessons from the cricket field; and leadership lessons from Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The apex quality and safety regulators in India - Bureau of Indian Standards and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India have spotlighted the importance of packaging safety through the Food Safety and Standard (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 and its revisions.

A press note shared with PrintWeek and WhatPackaging? magazines by Siegwerk stated, “Even prior to any such legislations, Siegwerk has been an avid advocate of non-toxic inks with uncompromised commitment towards product safety.

“Siegwerk’s Vega line was launched in response to a growing demand for transparency and safer ingredients in packaging products. These inks were designed with the 3S’s in mind – safety, sustainability and satisfaction of the customer. Siegwerk has always pledged its alliance to safe inks, discarding hazardous solvents such as mineral oils and toluene, and continue to accelerate their efforts in this direction,” it concluded.