Disposable paper cups are usually made of food-grade wood pulp paper and food-grade PE film. In order to achieve the water barrier effect, the inner wall of the paper cup will be coated with a polyethylene water barrier film.
Polyethylene is the safest chemical in food processing. However, if the selected material is not good or the processing technology is not good enough, the polyethylene may be oxidized to carbonyl compounds during the process of hot melting or applying to paper cups. Carbonyl compounds are not easily volatile at room temperature, but may volatilize when hot water is poured into the paper cup, so people will smell strange. From a general theoretical analysis, long-term intake of this organic compound must be harmful to the human body. However, it is safe to use the inner polyethylene material that meets the standard to make the coating of the disposable water cup. When the temperature exceeds 200 °C, the inner polyethylene will decompose and produce harmful substances. If the temperature does not exceed 100°C, it will not cause the decomposition of the inner polyethylene, so the disposable water cup made of this standard material will not cause safety problems.
In order to increase sales, some disposable paper cup manufacturers print exquisite patterns on the outside of the cup, and once the ink or fluorescent agent printed on the outer layer of the paper cup does not meet the standard, it may contain carcinogens such as benzene or toluene. Once the amount of fluorescent agent used exceeds the standard or the paper cups with excessive fluorescent agent are used for a long time, there is the possibility of cancer.
The printing pattern on the outside of the paper cup should be clear in outline, uniform in color and without obvious color spots, but “the cup should not be printed within 15mm from the cup body and the cup bottom within 10mm from the cup body”, all raw materials and additives should meet the food packaging grade. According to the requirements, no fluorescent whitening agent can be added artificially, and paper cups that have not obtained the SC safety mark are prohibited from being sold and used. That is to say, if the paper cup has the SC logo, it means that all the indicators of the production materials are qualified, and there is no need to worry about the problem of the fluorescent agent exceeding the standard.
