What are the quality inspection standards for food-grade plastic sauce cups?

As a disposable packaging product that directly contacts with food, the quality inspection of food-grade plastic sauce cups should meet both the national safety standard for food contact materials and the physical performance standard for packaging products. The core of the inspection is food safety, physical performance and suitability for use. The inspection standard is based on national mandatory standards, supplemented by general industry norms. All indicators need to pass the double verification of type inspection and factory inspection to ensure that there is no safety risk when filling sauces (including acid, spicy, oil and hot sauce, etc.). The following are the core quality inspection standards and corresponding index requirements, covering all dimensions of raw materials and finished products, and adapting to mainstream sauce cup materials such as PP/PS/PET.

First, the core food safety testing standards (mandatory, according to GB 4806.7-2016)

This standard is the national mandatory standard for plastic materials and products used for food contact, and it is the core basis for sauce cup testing. It focuses on the detection of harmful substances precipitation and raw material compliance of raw materials and finished products, so as to prevent migration and pollution of sauce. All indicators are mandatory, and unqualified products are prohibited from leaving the factory.

Raw material compliance testing

The raw materials of PP/PS/PET used should be food contact grade special materials, and the production license and test report of food contact products of the raw material manufacturer should be provided. It is forbidden to use recycled materials, recycled materials and non-food grade additives, and the raw materials are single in composition without unknown additives.

Migration quantity detection

Simulate the working condition that the sauce cup contains acidic (such as tomato sauce), oily (such as salad dressing) and water-based sauces, and detect the migration amount of harmful substances. Core indicators:

Total migration (soaked in distilled water/4% acetic acid/n-hexane): ≤ 60mg/dm (aqueous/acidic) and ≤ 10mg/dm (oily);

Specific migration amount of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, chromium and mercury): all ≤ 0.01 mg/dm, and no heavy metals are precipitated;

Residual migration of monomers (propylene monomer of PP, styrene monomer of PS, ethylene terephthalate monomer of PET): styrene monomer ≤ 0.5 mg/dm, propylene monomer ≤1mg/kg, so as to ensure that no harmful monomers are dissolved into the sauce.

Restriction of additive use

Plasticizers, stabilizers, colorants and other additives must comply with GB 9685-2016 "Standards for the Use of Additives for Food Contact Materials and Products". The use of phthalate plasticizers is prohibited. Only food-grade white/transparent additives can be used as colorants, and no colored pigments can be added (to avoid pigment migration).

Sensory requirements

The finished product has no peculiar smell and odor, and the color is natural/transparent, without turbidity and yellowing. The inner wall of the cup body is smooth and free of foreign bodies. After soaking (distilled water, 60℃, 30min), the soaking liquid has no peculiar smell and no color change, ensuring that no irritating substances affect the taste of the sauce.

Second, the physical performance testing standards (core use items, according to industry standards such as QB/T 4049-2010)

Focusing on the molding accuracy, sealing, temperature resistance and mechanical strength of sauce cups, it is the key index of factory inspection to adapt to the whole scene of loading, transportation and use and avoid leakage, deformation and damage. The indicators of sauce cups with different specifications (15ml/30ml/50ml/100ml) are unified.

dimensional deviation

Use vernier caliper to detect key dimensions, and the deviation shall be ≤0.1mm: the inner diameter of the cup mouth, the height of the cup body and the thickness of the bottom, and the roundness deviation of the cup mouth shall be ≤0.2mm, so as to ensure accurate matching with the matching cover body, and there is no risk of loosening and leakage of the cover body; Uniform wall thickness, thin-walled model ≥0.3mm, thick-walled model ≥0.4mm, without easy damage caused by uneven thickness.

airtightness

As the core required item, negative pressure method/water injection method is adopted for detection:

Water injection method: fill the cup with water, cover it upside down/put it on the side for 30min, and there is no water leakage or seepage;

Negative pressure method: after sealing the cup mouth, vacuum it to-0.05MPa, and keep it for 1min. The cup body is free from deformation and air leakage, so as to ensure that the sauce (including liquid sauce) does not leak during transportation and carrying.

Temperature resistance

Adapt to the requirements of hot and cold dressing of sauce (cold storage sauce ~ microwave heating sauce), and test indicators:

Low temperature tolerance: freeze at -20℃ for 2 hours, no cracking or deformation after taking out, and no change in sealing after returning to room temperature;

High temperature resistance: PP cup was heated by hot air at 120℃ for 30min, and PS/PET cup was soaked in hot water at 80℃ for 30min, without deformation, softening and odor, and the strength of cup body did not decrease obviously;

High-low temperature cycle: -10℃~60℃ cycle for 5 times, without cracking and deformation, and the sealing performance is up to standard.

mechanical strength

Bending resistance of the cup mouth: apply a force of 5N along the radial direction to the cup mouth, and keep it for 10s, without cracking or deformation, so as to avoid the damage of the cup mouth when the lid is removed and squeezed;

Pressure resistance at the bottom: apply a static pressure of 10N to the bottom of the cup for 10s, without depression or damage, so as to ensure no deformation when stacked (≤10 layers);

No sharp edge burr: the cup mouth and gate are polished, no sharp edge is touched by hand, and there is no risk of scratching hands by scratch tester to avoid scratching the skin when using.

presentation quality

There are no defects such as bubbles, lack of materials, flash, depressions, black spots, etc., the inner wall of the cup body is smooth and convex, the outer wall is flat and scratch-free, and the unqualified product rate per thousand finished products is ≤3‰, ensuring product consistency.

III. Hygienic cleanliness testing standard (production process control item)

Aiming at the cleanliness of sauce cup forming, post-treatment and packaging, it can avoid dust, oil pollution and microbial pollution in the production process, and meet the hygienic requirements of food packaging, which is the inspection index of workshop process.

Microbial limit

The finished product shall meet the requirements of aseptic/microbial limit, the total number of detected colonies shall be ≤ 100 fu/g, and coliforms and pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus) shall not be detected. After production, it shall be disinfected by ultraviolet/hot air, and the packaging shall be sterile and sealed.

Cleanliness requirement

There is no dust, oil stain, fiber yarn and other foreign bodies in the cup body. After washing with pure water, the washing liquid has no visible impurities, and the non-volatile residue is ≤30mg/L, so as to ensure that there is no pollutant residue in the production process.

Four, detection classification and implementation requirements

The inspection of food-grade plastic sauce cups can be divided into type inspection and ex-factory inspection, which are strictly carried out according to frequency to ensure the quality of the whole batch is up to standard:

Type inspection: it is carried out every six months/when raw material formula changes/production process is adjusted, covering all the above food safety, physical properties and cleanliness indicators, and a report is issued by a third-party testing organization with CMA qualification;

Ex-factory inspection: each batch of products must be inspected, focusing on sensory, dimensional deviation, sealing, appearance quality and microbial limit (total number of colonies and coliform bacteria), issuing ex-factory inspection reports batch by batch, and rejecting all unqualified batches.

Five, packaging and labeling additional testing standards

Packaging inspection: Food-grade PE film/aseptic carton is used for packaging, with no damage or air leakage, accurate counting of each package, no deformation of the package after stacking and transportation, and no damage or pollution to the sauced cup;

Identification detection: the packaging shall be clearly marked with the identification for food contact, raw material materials (such as "PP for food contact"), product specifications, production date, shelf life, manufacturer information and implementation standard (GB 4806.7-2016), with clear handwriting and no false labeling.

Core summary

The quality inspection standard of food-grade plastic sauce cups takes GB 4806.7-2016 as the core of food safety, QB/T 4049-2010 as the basis of physical properties, and the core principle is * * "Safety first, use adaptation". In all tests, raw material compliance, migration of harmful substances and sealing are the three key items, which are also the focus of market supervision and sampling; The dimensional deviation, temperature resistance and mechanical strength directly determine the product experience, which is the core control index of the factory inspection of the production enterprise. The full-dimensional inspection ensures that the sauce cup has no safety risk when it comes into contact with all kinds of sauces, and can meet the use requirements of portability, sealing and durability.