Kellogg's: looking at alternatives to recycled cardboard 

The European paper-based packaging industry is to phase out the use of printing inks based on mineral oils for food packaging, following last March's health scare.

The pledge from the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) and the International Confederation of Paper and Board Converters in Europe (CITPA) follows a study published in March which revealed that mineral oils found in the inks of recycled newspapers could migrate into the food products within the inner bag.

 The research by the Food Safety Laboratory in Zurich found that, in some cases, the mineral oils present were between 10 and 100 times higher than the regulation limit for foodstuffs such as cereals, pasta and rice.

CEPI and CITPA said that the industry had already made reductions of up to 90% in its use of mineral oils.

A joint statement from CEPI and CITPA said: "To formalise and further strengthen its efforts to reduce the use of mineral oils, the industry has agreed on a European-wide commitment.

"This will phase out the use of printing inks based on mineral oils for printing paper and board packaging, and mineral oil-based process chemicals for food contact paper and board packaging material."

Cereal companies Jordans, Kellogg’s and Weetabix have already expressed intentions to assess or eliminate outright, their use of recycled card in packaging following concerns over the oils.