Current & Future European Regulation for Adhesives in Food-Contact Articles
While at the beginning of the last century adhesives were based on natural raw materials like protein, starch or cellulose, today many demands concerning different materials can only be met with the help of synthetic raw materials.
Industrially processed adhesives are expected to bond the materials quickly and precisely, and to allow trouble-free and cost-effective production, which is automated as much as possible. In addition, they have to resist the stress of using the finished product. Today, ecological questions play an increasingly important role in the decision of which adhesive system should be used. For instance, it is increasingly expected that adhesive systems be processed in a way that produces as little waste or wastewater in the production facilities as possible. Next to these demands is the question of the influence of adhesives on recycling/reuse - such as returnable bottles - of the bonded products is becoming more and more important. Finally, the price should not be underestimated for choosing an adhesive.