Development and Application of Bio-Derived Inks and Varnishes for the Food and Drinks Packaging Industry

As the global population grows there is an increasing demand for food and food packaging, particularly food packaging which extends the shelf life of the food. There is also the competing demand for increased sustainability in the the food packaging used. Metal food packaging (aluminium and steel based cans) has the benefit of meeting the consumers needs for shelf life and has the benefit of the metal being fully recyclable. As part of this project, Crown and Verdex are seeking to develop and apply coating materials (inks and varnishes) that come from fully bio-derived, non-food competitive sources. They are also seeking to use novel processing methodologies for these materials which use much less energy and greatly reduce the emissions of volatile organic compounds in the curing process.