Milliken ClearTint® Liquid Polymeric Colorants Win FDA Approval for Clarified PP and HDPE Food Contact Applications
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Spartanburg, S.C. – Milliken & Company today announced that its ClearTint® polymeric colorants have received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in food contact applications. All five ClearTint primaries, the basis for all the company's ClearTint colors, have been approved under the FDA's Food Contact Notification program. Milliken's proactive efforts to secure agency approval, undertaken on behalf of customers, will benefit manufacturers of food containers in two important ways. First, customers can avoid the time and cost required to calculate use levels and conditions for non-migration of new ClearTint colorant blends, making it easier to adopt the latest color trends. Second, these high-end products help ensure safety in broader application areas, such as sippy cups and baby bottles and other repeat-use containers. FDA approval adds an important new benefit to the already compelling ClearTint value proposition.
"Our ClearTint colorants were already compliant with FDA food contact requirements and have now earned agency approval across broad conditions of use, including sterilization in boiling water," said Melissa Copeland, Milliken global product line manager. "Approval of our primaries will streamline custom color qualifications and allow customers to quickly address new consumer trends, styles and preferences. Although the Food Contact Notification process was rigorous and time-consuming, Milliken voluntarily completed it to provide added value to our customers."
The ClearTint primaries were submitted individually to the FDA and subjected to extensive migration testing, purity analysis and toxicity testing. The results showed ClearTint colorants were undetectable at common detection limits in standard migration testing. The five primaries received Food Contact Notification approval under use conditions B (boiling water sterilized) through H (frozen or refrigerated storage) and J (microwave cooking). The approvals now allow ClearTint colorants to be used in repeat-use articles in contact with infant formula and housewares used for feeding infants.
ClearTint colorants are ideally suited for clarified polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE), providing exceptional aesthetics and easy, consistent processing. When combined with Milliken's Millad® NX™ 8000 additive for PP, ClearTint colorants provide unsurpassed brightness and richness of color while protecting the plastic's clarity. Compared to traditional pigments, that often cause haze in clear materials and warpage due to nucleation, Milliken's polymeric colorants offer superior gloss and clarity and are non-nucleating. Further, they will not migrate or extract as traditional dyes can.
ClearTint colorants are available globally.
About Milliken
Milliken is an innovation company that has been exploring, discovering, and creating ways to enhance people's lives since 1865. Working from our laboratories, application and development centers around the world, our scientists and engineers create coatings, specialty chemicals, and advanced additive and colorant technologies that transform the way we experience products from automotive plastics to children's art supplies. With expertise across a breadth of disciplines that also includes floor covering and performance materials, the people of Milliken work every day to add true value to people's lives, improve health and safety, and make this world more sustainable. For more information, visit www.millikenchemical.com or www.milliken.com.
Milliken, ClearTint, and Millad are registered trademarks of Milliken & Company.
NX is a trademark of Milliken & Company.
Copyright 2014 Milliken & Company
Media Contact
Wim Van de Velde
Milliken & Company
wim.vandevelde@milliken.com
864-503-6047
413-448-2260, x370
Milliken & Company, 920 Milliken Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29303-4995 United States
