The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Pelestat antistatic additive for use in food contact applications, opening the market there to an additive which already has an established user base in Europe.
Toyota Tsusho Corp. (Georgetown, KY) is the sole distributor of this non-migratory permanent antistatic agent, which is produced by its affiliate Sanyo Chemical Industries. Toyota Tsusho is the trading division within the Toyota Group and claims to be the sixth largest trading company in the world.
Pelestat grades are suitable for use in extrusion of polypropylene and polyethylene films. According to Toyota Tsusho, the additives help users realize top-notch transparency and a smooth surface appearance on their films. The material has seen use in, for example, packaging for powdered pharmaceutical products, and meets European regulations limiting migration of antistatic agents from a host film/package. Pelestat is said to reduce static accumulation by maintaining resistance of 108 – 1012 ohms/sq at relatively low humidity levels (12-15%), with no release or migratory effect of the antistatic agent onto the packaged content. —[email protected]
