Specialty chemicals company Evonik Corporation, one of the largest producers of superabsorbent polymers (SAP), is currently the only maker of FDA-approved SAP for food grade nonwovens. Its only other competitor in this realm, BASF, stopped global production in this market in 2012, according to industry insiders. These superabsorbents are used in food pads that are placed under poultry, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, absorbing liquids from these perishables and keeping them fresher for a longer amount of time.
 
Creasorb, Evonik’s non-hygiene product line, has been producing FAVOR-PAC superabsorbent polymers for food-grade nonwovens since the late 1990s. Its current grade, FAVOR-PAC 593, is its latest generation product, which has been on the market since 2007. FAVOR-PAC polymers are produced at two facilities in the U.S., in Greensboro, NC, and Garyville, LA.
 
Bobby Mitra, business director for Evonik Creasorb, Nutrition & Care, says to garner FDA approval for such a product, a company must prove that it can control the amount of migratables in the product. The first part of the stringent approval process consists of toxicological studies, which ensure that the formulation contains no “chemicals of concern,” which is essentially a list of undesirable chemicals for food safety. A good practice is to use GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) ingredients where possible.
 
Next, the product has to go through migration studies, which show that nothing harmful is migrating out of the product into the food. Migration studies are required for all FDA approved SAP.
 
“There are some limitations in terms of what [the FDA] considers to be a sensitive migratable. So we must control the molecular weight of migratables,” Mitra explains. “That’s an important part of the FDA approval and it is put on our Certificate of Analysis.”
 
Another important part of the FDA approval process is record keeping and formulation control. “Once you have registered a formulation with the FDA, that’s locked in,” he adds.
 
If the product becomes FDA approved, then the site where it’s produced is subject to auditing. “You have to be readily available for unscheduled audits. Then there are a lot of process controls that we have, to ensure both quality and formulation control,” he says. When Evonik’s FAVOR-PAC SAP became FDA approved, it received the food contact notification number 427.
 
According to Mitra, FAVOR-PAC provides added benefits when used in food pads compared to other absorbent products. “Whether it is used for hygiene products or food pads—in gram for gram absorbency—SAP is more cost effective than fiber, fluff pulp, tissue or anything else.”
 
While FAVOR-PAC is a niche product for Evonik, the company still sees demand for it. “The food grade SAP market is stable. Eating habits change. There’s demand for chicken, especially processed chicken—that’s driving the demand for SAP.”
 
FAVOR®-PAC is a registered trademark of Evonik Industries AG.