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2 NEWSLETTER dEcEmbER 2012 EU Timber Regulation – No Changes for MM Karton Customers The new European Union Timber Regulation No. 995/2010 to ban illegal timber will go into effect on 3 March 2013. It prohibits the ‘first placing’ of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the EU market. MM Karton has long been dedicated to the objectives of this regulation. As a market leader, we set standards for the sustainable and responsible use of resources, particularly with regard to renewable raw materials. The new regulation prohibits the placing of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the EU market and requires EU traders who place timber products on the EU market for the first time to exercise due diligence. Compliance with the regulation should largely be covered by the current knowledge of our existing FSC and PEFC regulations, whereby the FSC-CW certification includes a risk assessment that can be used as a basis for the new ‘due diligence system’. The new regulation of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union reinforces existing procedures and certification systems and aims to combat illegal logging and trade in illegally harvested timber and products derived from such timber. The regulation will also provide a legal basis for existing certification systems. Due Diligence Approach to Information and Minimising Risk Illegal logging and trade in illegal timber is a serious and increasing problem on the timber market. The PEFC and FSC chain of custody/controlled wood requirement prohibit the use of illegal timber in production. MM Karton works in accordance with the regulations set out by these standards. The new EU regulation defines criteria for the risk assessment including compliance with the applicable legislation, third party organisations as monitoring institutes, compliance with the UN Key points include: • The import of and trade with illegally harvested timber and timber products on the market is prohibited. • Traders and distributors must exercise due diligence when importing and placing timber and timber products on the market. • Traders across the entire supply chain must be able to identify the country of origin of timber and timber products. • EU Member States are legally bound to set penalties for infringements of the regulation. • The monitoring organisation responsible for ensuring compliance with the provisions has not yet been appointed. • The regulation covers round wood, firewood, chips, processed wood and paper products. It does not include printed papers and books that contain recycled materials. Mayr-Melnhof Karton and the compliance regulation The regulation and how it is to be implemented has not yet been fully defined – the possible method sanction on the import and export of timber and the supply chain as an integral part of the risk assessment system. The new regulation also calls for a procedure for assessing and minimising risk. MM Karton operates in accordance with the PEFC chain of custody, the FSC chain of custody and the FSC controlled wood requirement by using a proprietary traceability system and carrying out in-house checks. Topic of risk assessment is unknown and the monitoring organisation is yet to be determined. Nevertheless, based on current information, operators that already have rules and procedures in place that are in line with the requirements of the regulation are free to adapt existing systems. MM Karton and all of its cartonboard mills are oriented toward national and international compliance regulations. This applies to timber and timber products that are available on the market. The PEFC chain of custody, FSC chain of custody and FSC controlled wood requirements apply to the ban on illegally harvested timber and to the bans on the following: • Timber harvested in violation of traditional or civil rights. • Timber harvested in forests where high conservation values (forests with a high ecological or social value) are threatened by management activities. • Timber harvested in natural forests being converted. • Timber from forests including genetically modified trees.
Tampering Directive – dEcEmbER 2012 NEWSLETTER 2d matrix codes European Directive on Falsified Medicines The European Commission published the Falsified Medicines Directive 2011/62/EU in July 2011 as part of a package of measures to effectively combat the falsification of medicinal products. This will allow wholesalers and pharmacists to determine if the medicine is genuine and if the packaging of has been tampered with. MMK 2D qualities for more security More and more medicines are now being falsified. One in every ten medicines ordered on the Internet is fake, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Legislation relating to transparent distribution chains and state-of-the-art security techniques is important in the fight against the increase in falsified medicines. EU calls for two security features The security features are separated into two groups. The first consists of ‘individual identification marks’ such as serial numbers and DataMatrix codes. These are primarily used by wholesalers and pharmacists to check the authenticity of medicines and identify individual packets. In order to EFSA Opinion on Mineral Oil Migration FOODBOARD ensures comprehensive protection The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published a scientific opinion entitled ‘Scientific Opinion on Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons in Food’ that deals with dietary exposure to mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) found in food. The 185-page EFSA report outlines numerous sources for the presence of mineral oils in food. Sources of MOH in food are additives, processing aids and lubricants that are used in food production. Food packaging materials and environmental contaminants can also be sources of MOH. Examples include mineral oils used as additives in the manufacture of plastics, adhesives, wax paper and cartonboard, jute and sisal bags with mineral batching oil, lubricants for tin can manufacture, materials made from recycled paper, corrugated board packaging and recycled cartonboard packaging without an internal barrier, printing inks applied to paper and cartonboard and environmental contamination sources. Higher levels of exposure among younger consumers Dietary exposure to MOH varies within age classes. It is therefore difficult to assess the health effects of exposure, however, levels of exposure are higher among young people as opposed to adults or the be read correctly in accordance with ISO 15415, the cartonboard qualities require an optimised coating to be dry and smudge-proof in less than half a second. The MMK qualities Excellent Top 2D, MCM 2D and Supra 2D were developed to master this special requirement. The 2D emphasises the specific suitability for the use of DataMatrix codes. The second new group consists of anti-tamper features (tamper proof evidence). There are several options: Stickers, adhesive seals, cellophane wrapping and perforated openings that can be used, depending on the manufacturer’s specifications, to determine if the outer wrapping of the medicine has been tampered with. There are to be no requirements governing the various options that could be implemented by the packaging ma- elderly. Groups of consumers that often purchase the same contaminated foodstuffs are exposed to an increased risk of consuming more MOAH. Lack of knowledge concerning MOAH The EFSA concludes that the available toxicological and analytical data is not sufficient to prove the toxic impact of mineral oil traces on the human body but made it clear that the issue is of concern and will remain so until verified studies identify no specific food safety concerns. The position of the EFSA therefore corresponds to that of the German Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). EFSA’s opinion also makes a series of recommendations for improving methods of analysis, data collection and monitoring as well as indications for possible future priorities of scientific research on MOH. An improvement of the analytical methods would allow separation of MOH (saturated hydrocarbons) and MOAH (aromatic hydrocarbons) into nufacturer. All of the mechanisms can therefore be considered equal and may be used simultaneously as long as they ensure that it is easy to inspect the outer packaging in day-to-day operations for signs of tampering. Examples include closures that have to be torn open to access the product or seals. There are also plans to introduce a common, EU-wide logo to identify legal online pharmacies. All EU Member States will start applying these measures from 2 January 2013* and they will become binding from 2016. *Does not include Belgium, Italy and Greece Topic subclasses. The discussed detection limit should also be examined. Foodboard TM ready to come into effect before mineral oil regulation The current EFSA statement and the last draft of the BMELV’s ‘Mineral Oil Regulation’ (‘22nd Regulation amending the Consumer Goods Safety Regulation’) clearly show that mineral oil migration can only be fully stopped by including a functional barrier in the primary packaging. This solution also offers protection against migration from secondary (corrugated) packaging during storage and transport – a process referred to as cross contamination. Mayr-Melnhof Karton takes the migration of mineral oils into foodstuffs very seriously. The use of FOODBOARD provides the necessary protection and ensures the safety of packaged food. Given the length of the legal process, FOODBOARD TM will be available before the mineral oil regulation comes into effect. 3
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