Services
IRCPack s.r.l. is a Research and Consulting Institute at the service of companies of MOCA sector, which comprises the Materials and Objects in Contact with Food.
During production processes, food comes into contact with a large number of objects and materials that affect its production, transformation, conservation, preparation and management, up to final consumption.
For example, MOCA are containers for food transport, tools for processing raw materials and semi-finished products, cooking utensils, vending machine and all primary or secondary packaging of the finished product.
MOCA are regulated by national and European measures which provide accurate checks to ensure safety in terms of quality and health preservation, in order to guarantee that materials comply with the requirements established by law.
This conformity concerns every level of the supply chain: from raw material suppliers, to transformers, to printers.
Therefore, everyone who deal with MOCA has multiple responsibilities and IRCPack, thanks to its experience in this sector, offers consulting services and professional assistance for food packaging companies.
IRCPack provides a group of qualified experts able to assist all compartments of food packaging supply chain in choosing the correct analysis to carry out and in drafting the conformity declarations, depending on each particular case.
IRCPack offers the possibility to carry out tests in order to check the packaging confomity according to the regulations in force, for their use in contact with food.
IRCPack carries out studies for risk assessment of toxicological and sensory damage and drafting of "dossiers" to support the declaration of compliance with Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27th October 2004.
Does your packaging have a functional barrier?
IRCPack and Sepack Lab developed a new protocol for functional barrie evaluation.
Evaluation of the barrier effect:
• of the layer in contact with food in multi-material multilayer materials
• of primary packaging against contaminants from secondary packaging or from the external environment
IRCPack is able to carry out evaluation studies on printing inks and on the "set-off" of printed materials, as required by Annex I of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2023/2006 (GMP) of 22nd December 2006.
The regulatory framework requires that inks must be formulated and processed according to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2023/2006 (GMP), so that substances are not released to food in quantities such as to generate situations not complying with the Article No. 3 of the Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004.
IRCPack offers, in collaboration with Sepack Lab, analysis for the determination of MOSH and MOAH by solvent extraction, solid phase separation and and GC-FID analysis in papers, cartons and plastic films (confirmation of data by GC/MS).
Mineral oils (MOH) are hydrocarbon compound derivatives mainly from crude oil, but also synthesized from coal, natural gas and biomass. In particular, the attention of food packaging world is focusing on two groups of substances: MOAH (Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons) and MOSH (Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons)
IRCPack offers the possibility to carry out studies for the verification of decontamination processes of recycled plastic for direct food contact, as required by Regulation (EU) No. 282/2008.
STEP 1: contamination with known quantities
STEP 2: subsequent measurement of decontamination interventions
IRCPack offers:
• training courses to deepen regulatory, analytical and technical aspects regarding food contact materials
• customized packages for both MOCA producers and food companies in our offices or in your company
• training courses concerning the organoleptic defect with possible panel training
Thanks to our experts’ skills, IRCPack identifies and analyzes customer problems, proposing effective methods of analysis, for example in case of negative interactions between packaging and food, residual odors in materials, performance defects such as weldability, adhesion of layers, adhesions of inks, slipperiness, tensile strength, etc.
Thanks to a Research & Development department, Ircpack is able to deal with any problems related to the determination of the specific migration and residual contents of listed and non-listed compounds, even in the absence of "official" methods.
Research projects conducted also in collaboration with public and private bodies / laboratories, with different aims:
- compatibility studies between packaging and food (shelf life)
- development and application development of new materials
- evaluation of active and intelligent packaging
- optimization of the performance characteristics of materials and/or raw materials