Pizza boxes in the news - DIBP concerns

Pizza boxes are in the news again, this time because of concerns that those manufactured with recycled paper may contain di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP). In the Telegraph.co.uk article, it is stated that, 'According to the Food Standards Agency [DIBP] may have a harmful affect on human reproductive development because they have been reported to be endocrine (hormone) disrupters.'

That there is some DIBP in certain types of paper is not questioned, after all, scientists in the home of the pizza (University of Milan) found traces of DIBP in boxes from 16 different restaurants in northern Italy. One box contained more than 70 micrograms, and several had more than 40 micrograms.

DIBP can originate from the inks (certain printing processes), glues and colourants found in certain grades of recycled paper and board.

So what is the exposure and risk to human health? Probably very little. There is an ongoing debate as to whether packaging used in contact with food should be made for virgin rather than recycled paper as the latter often contains chemicals which have not been tested and approved for food contact use. Countries rich in wood fibre (eg Finland) usually argue the case for using virgin fibre, whereas those with larger populations and an abundance of recycled fibre have an interest in using recycled fibre (eg France) in packaging paper and board.

The pizza box has also been in the news for containing PFOS and PFOA, the harmful by-products found in many fluorochemicals used to give grease resistance. Pizza box manufacturers have made big strides to stop the use of these fluorochemicals but suppliers are still offering the products to the industry for food-contact use.

AAK acquire Ciba's de-inking chemical business

It was announced this morning that AarhusKarlshamn (AAK) will acquire Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Finland's de-inking chemicals unit. Ciba's Business Unit De-inking Chemicals has a turnover of SEK 25 millio and will become part of AAK's Business Sector Tefac (fatty acids).

Completion of the transaction is intended by the 31st October 2007.

Details given on AAK are as follows:

'AarhusKarlshamn is the world’s leading producer of high value-added speciality vegetable fats. These fats are characterized by a high technological content and are used as substitute for butter-fat and cocoa butter, transfree solutions for fillings in chocolate and confectionery products, and in the cosmetics industry. AarhusKarlshamn has production facilities in Denmark, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Uruguay and the US. The company is organised in three Business Areas; Chocolate and Confectionery Fats, Food Ingredients and Technical Products & Feed. Further information on AarhusKarlshamn can be found on the company’s website www.aak.com.'

The future for paper chemicals ..... some views from suppliers, users and a consultant

Some leading suppliers, users and a consultant were asked for their views on the future of paper chemicals and an interesting summary is given in the Tappi Paper 360 article by Glen Ostle. Topics include:

• Investment in R&D - various figures are given for the percentage an total amounts that companies spend but in my experience there is not a common definition of R&D and companies like to bolster the figures by including all technically-related activities as R&D. R&D spending of 2.5-3% of sales is mentioned, but inreality the figure is probably closer to 2%.
  
• Market drivers - cost is always high on the list and with escalating energy, raw material, transport and regulatory costs, this is not surprising. Other drivers include, environmental issues such as sustainability, use of renewable resources and compliance with changing regulation. The increasing need for strength is mentioned, driven by fibre shortage (use of alternative fibres), recycling and the need to use less fibre (cost). Increased demand for water-treatment chemicals, especially in India and China. De-inking will increase and demand for innovation in this area will continue.
  
• Future product demands - new coating binders based on natural products/renewable resources (eg biopolymer latexes). Recyclable barrier coatings. Biotechnology will play an increasingly important role as will the environmental agenda.
  
• Industry consolidation - the paper chemical supply industry remains very fragmented and future consolidation is inevitable. The emergence of a few global leaders plus specialists in certain stand-alone segments is expected. Surprisingly, no mention is made of the rapid growth of quality manufacturers and suppliers from India and China, perhaps because there were no contributors with strong experience of the supply industry in these emerging markets (or they preferred to live in denial of the impact that not-traditional suppliers are having in the market).
  

The article is interesting and more a confirmation of grass-root thinking rather than offering any new ideas.

The views of people from the following companies are given: Nalco, Hercules Paper Technologies & Ventures, Minerals Technologies, Klass Associates, Kemira Pulp & Paper, Buckman Laboratories, Dow Chemicals, Omya and Cargill.

Kemira opens 'new' technology and business centre in Leverkusen

On the back of the acquisition of the LanXess paper business, Kemira has opened a 'new' business and technology centre at the Leverkusen base of the former LanXess.

The centre has 98 employees and will primarily concentrate on the traditional business of LanXess which is colourants (dyes and pigments) and optical brightening agents for papermaking. In addition to this core business and dedicated research focus for paper chemicals, there will also be some activities in wet-end and recycling chemicals.

LanXess (now Kemira) is a leading supplier of optical brightening agents (top 3) for papermaking and Kemira is the leader in the supply of chemicals to the global pulp and paper industry. For details of their financial results please see a recent post.