The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) published Food Survey Information Sheet 18/06 in November 2006, reporting results of a two-phase study on benzophenone and 4-hydroxybenzophenone migration from printed packaging into food. By early 2007, ink suppliers, carton converters, and flexible packaging printers were actively reformulating UV-cured systems and auditing storage practices in response to the findings.
Phase one tested 350 foodstuffs packaged directly or indirectly in printed paper or board, including recycled cartonboard and packs bearing printed adhesive labels. Benzophenone was confirmed in 61 samples—roughly 17% of the total. The highest level measured in food fell to 4.5 mg/kg from 7.3 mg/kg in a comparable FSA survey conducted in 2000, suggesting partial industry progress but persistent migration risk.
Phase two examined 115 foods in printed plastic packaging; all samples complied with applicable regulations, with benzophenone confirmed in only four samples at a maximum of 0.15 mg/kg—well below the 0.6 mg/kg specific migration limit for benzophenone under EU plastics directive 2002/72/EC. The FSA noted no confirmed presence of 4-hydroxybenzophenone in either phase. A group tolerable daily intake of 0.01 mg/kg body weight applied to combined benzophenone exposure.
Research linked benzophenone migration to UV-cured inks using benzophenone photoinitiators on cartonboard, with elevated transfer under frozen storage and potential increases during microwave reheating. UV inks on secondary packaging and set-off transfer through laminate layers became focus areas for QA protocols at flexible packaging plants serving UK retail accounts.
The survey accelerated replacement of benzophenone photoinitiators with alternative chemistries and reinforced barrier-layer specifications on printed flexible structures. Converters supplying printed lidding film, paper-polyethylene laminates, and labeled pouches faced customer audits asking for photoinitiator declarations—preparing the ground for EU good-manufacturing-practice ink-handling rules effective in 2008.