Ink Used to Make Placemats. Are they safe?

A thought crossed my mind the other day while visiting a friend, who owns and runs a printing house in Lebanon. As we were discussing work, one of his employees walked in with a fresh printed paper. The employee wanted the final approval before going ahead with printing the whole batch of placemats. Here’s when I thought… what if a piece of bread touches the placemats? Do the forks and knives on the placemats carry any ink residue that’s harmful to people? Is special ink used for the restaurant and hospitality industry?

I asked my friend the question and he told me bluntly "chou we2fit 3al sous plat?" as he goes on mentioning the infinity of items that are printed and might get in direct contact with food material including packaging, Labels and even stickers.

I was happy to learn that Elie uses FOOD GRADE INK and even food grade varnish that protects the ink while printing food related items like labels, placemats, stickers, delivery boxes and more. This is a special kind of ink and varnish certified worldwide for being safe to use with food related products. Elie then assures me that with his experience working with ISO certified clients; that ISO Safety System obliges food companies to use such ink. But the question is do all printing companies use it? How can the consumer know that the placemat their food is on is safe, or the delivery boxes ordered into their offices daily are also safe… Even labels on our every day products such as salt and pepper for example… Be aware. Ask around. Safety comes first