First kosher seal given to plastic resins

Abstract

Solvay Polymers has modified its Deer Park, Tex., resin production processes to produce the first polyethylene and polypropylene product lines to win kosher certification. In the past, kosher certification has come much later in the packaging production process, usually as the resin is molded into a container. Solvay has signed an agreement with Certified Shipping Packaging Transport of Silver Spring, Md., an agency that identifies and certifies the kosher acceptability of food packaging and handling materials that comply with the standards of Jewish, Muslim, Seventh-Day Adventist, and vegetarian groups. Until recently, Solvay, along with most of the plastics industry, used nonkosher, animal-tallow-derived lubricant additives—such as calcium stearate, zinc stearate, and glycerol monostearate—during production of polyethylene and polypropylene resins. The plastics industry has long known that these additives migrate to the surface of plastic packaging materials and come in direct contact with packaged food...