"Eupolen" PE Blue 69-1501 plastics pigment from BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in plastics in a wide range of food contact applications.

The additive can now be used in concentrations up to 2% in plastic items that come into contact with food, including closures for drink bottles, crates for fruits and vegetables, freezer boxes, drink cans, plastic cups and packaging films. Materials using the colourants may be used up to 70 °C.

The colourant is a highly concentrated, polyolefin-based, dispersed mono-pigment concentrate. It is said to combine the properties of a phthalocyanine pigment and excellent low-warping values with the advantages of the mono-pigment concentrate. Other advantages cited are high colour strength, good fastness to light and weathering, constant colour properties, good metering properties and a low-dust physical form.

In addition to food packaging applications, the pigment, which is supplied in a free-flowing and low-dust form and is compatible with other pigments, can be used in all kinds of injection mouldings, says BASF.