Henkel Launches Plasticizer-free Water-based Adhesives under the Adhesin brand

Since 2011, packages for food have been subjected to even more stringent regulations than ever. They are governed by legislation such as the European regulation on plastic materials, which specifies limits for migration of ingredients into packaged foods. In order to ensure that practically no substances can migrate from the adhesive to the food, Henkel is now offering Low Migration versions of its well-known water-based adhesives under the Adhesin brand.

Dispersion adhesives play an important role in the manufacture of packages made of paper and board. Glued folding boxes, bags or sacks are used in the food industry mainly for dry foods with a long shelf life. Up to now, there has been a potential risk that substances could migrate from an adhesive into the interior of the package.

To ensure the maximum possible safety, Henkel has now added a complete low migration product line to its proven portfolio of Adhesin adhesives. Dedicated product variants are available for different application systems, such as rollers and nozzles. Furthermore, Adhesin Low Migration products are also highly economical to use.

Adhesin Low Migration series delivers performance without plasticizers

In its Adhesin Low Migration series, Henkel has eliminated plasticizers completely. The use of other substances with a potential migration risk has also been minimized. However, detectable traces of such substances in food are not just due to possible migration directly out of the adhesive in a packaging, but also to indirect migration via the paper recycling route. The dispersion adhesives incorporating plasticizers that are contained in waste packaging enter the paper recycling loop where they can accumulate in the paper fibers. The paper mills have no way of extracting the plasticizers. Since the share of recycled fibers used in paper and board production is constantly rising, the share of entrained plasticizers is also growing. Henkel has therefore drawn the consequences with its Adhesin Low Migration series by designing a generation of dispersion adhesives that offers the greatest possible safety for packaging manufacturers and consumer goods producers.

Continuous further development for greater sustainability and safety

“The packaging industry frequently overlooks the risk of migration from adhesives. A really low migration package, however, demands the right combination of paper, printing inks and adhesives,” says Oliver Klewe, Henkel Marketing Manager Paper Converting Europe. Since the adhesives in the Adhesin Low Migration series contain no plasticizers whatsoever, it is now possible to completely avoid the contamination of foods by adhesives. The new products comply with Recommendation XIV of BfR, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. This recommendation applies to plastic dispersions intended for contact with food and aims to reduce the contamination of recycled papers with entrained plasticizers.

Technically, the plasticizer-free Henkel adhesives meet all the usual industrial requirements for bonding folding boxes, corrugated board boxes, bags and sacks, and other paper packages, including large-area lamination.

About Henkel

Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business areas: Laundry & Home Care, Cosmetics/Toiletries and Adhesive Technologies. Founded in 1876, Henkel holds globally leading market positions both in the consumer and industrial businesses with well-known brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite. Henkel, headquartered in Düsseldorf / Germany, has more than 47,000 employees worldwide and counts among the most internationally aligned German-based companies in the global marketplace.