Category Archive Highlighted

The LEREM general meeting took place on June 20, 2025

The LEREM held its Annual General Meeting, a key moment to take stock of an exceptional year 2024 at all levels: activity, security, results and commitments.

📊 Some highlights of 2024

• A record turnover, reaching an unprecedented level
• A spectacular growth of the granulometry activity
• 0 work accidents, an exemplary year in terms of safety
• Renewal of our ISO 9001 certification, with extension to the field of chemical analyses of packaging materials in contact with foodstuffs and cosmetics
• Recognition as a research laboratory thanks to our CIR accreditation for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025
• Relaunch of research work with the new PHENIX project which has already borne fruit through the publication of a new scientific article. The article, titled “Hazard assessment of fenozan, a released non-intentionnaly added substance from polyester-based can coating” makes a major contribution to the advancement of knowledge on NIAS; an advance to which our laboratory, LEREM, has proudly contributed

💬 Customer side

Our feedback demonstrates the commitment and high standards of a team of just four people serving an entire industry.

• 75% say they are very satisfied, 25% satisfied
• 100% are ready to entrust us with new projects

🏗️ Heading for the future !

We also presented our plan to move to new, modern, and sustainable premises—a key step in supporting LEREM’s future development. This structuring project was unanimously approved by our Board of Directors on June 20, 2025.

The LEREM laboratory is already a great tool, and it will be even better in its new premises !

Do you know Thomas Young ?

A prolific scientist and polymath, and a physician by training, he is responsible for the definition of Young’s modulus, which characterizes the elastic deformation of a material as a function of the stress applied to it. He was also the first to describe the phenomenon of accommodation, which allows the human eye to see clearly at different distances by modifying the curvature of the lens.

As a renowned Egyptologist, he made a major contribution to the interpretation of hieroglyphs, before their complete decipherment by Champollion in 1822.

Another of these major achievements, which brings us to today’s topic, was the discovery of light diffraction through slits, which allowed him, by observing interference fringes, to deduce the wave nature of light.

The diffraction used to measure the size of airborne aerosol particles is based on the use of a 633 nm helium-neon laser (see figure below). A first lens directs a parallel and coherent beam towards the atomized particles. The diffracted beam is collected on a detector using a second lens. The intensity and spacing of the interference fringes are used to determine the diffraction angle of the particles, which is itself characteristic of the size of these particles.

The LEREM proposes, using a reference laser granulometer for measuring the size of particles suspended in the air, a Malvern Spraytec SP2000 granulometer, to determine the particle size distribution, according to the Fraunhofer model, of aerosol generators (compressed and liquefied gases) and pump bottles, in compliance with the standard on particle size analysis ISO 13320: 2020.

The main characteristic results of the size distribution are the median diameter Dv(50), the volume mean diameter D[4][3], the percentiles Dv(10) and Dv(90), as well as the respirable fraction %V < 10 µm, necessary in the context of toxicological validations.

The applications are numerous and range from aerosol spray quality verification (cosmetics & cleaning products) to regulatory compliance assessment (pharmaceuticals & agriculture).

The objectives of the PPWR

The regulation aims to reduce packaging waste, boost recyclability, and set mandatory recycling targets. By 2029, Member States must ensure 90% collection of metal beverage containers and other materials up to three liters. Broader goals include a 15% reduction in packaging waste by 2040 and increasing the use of recycled materials to 30% in specific packaging types. The overarching objective is to significantly reduce single-use and non-recyclable packaging, including a 20% reduction in plastic packaging by 2040.

The importance of metal packaging

Metal packaging, such as aluminum and steel, stands out for its ability to be infinitely recyclable without losing quality, offering significant advantages in terms of sustainability. In Europe, 76% of metal packaging is already recycled, and aluminum cans achieve a 73% recycling rate. These high recycling rates contribute to considerable energy savings, reducing energy consumption by up to 95% compared to the production of new materials, making it an environmentally efficient option aligned with EU sustainability goals.

In addition to the PPWR, the European Green Deal, which aims for climate neutrality by 2050, further promotes the shift to more sustainable materials like metal. The Circular Economy Action Plan, also emphasizes designing products that are recyclable and reusable, providing additional opportunities for innovation in metal packaging. Furthermore, the revision of the Food Contact Materials Regulation focuses on eliminating harmful substances like Bisphenol A (BPA), making materials that are easier to comply with these new requirements even more attractive.

The role of the LEREM laboratory metal packaging innovation

For more than 60 years, LEREM Laboratory has worked closely with the metal packaging industry, conducting research on materials, processes, and how packaging interacts with the products it contains. Today, in addition to its historical expertise, LEREM has extended its scope of ISO 9001 certification and now offers support in the chemical analysis of packaging materials and coatings intended to come into contact with food and cosmetic products. LEREM provides essential expertise to help the industry adapt to evolving regulations and improve the quality and sustainability of metal packaging. With these innovations, metal packaging remains a safe, sustainable, and economically viable solution for the future.

For more information on LEREM, visit our official site and LinkedIn page.

The Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is a technique for characterizing electrochemical systems.

The principle of this technique consists of applying a low amplitude sinusoidal signal to the electrochemical system and measuring its response at different frequencies.

In the case of an electrochemical impedance measurement applied to the aerosol generators, the test method consists of bringing the coating or varnish (container) into contact with the product which will serve as electrolyte (content).

The test is based on the application of a low alternative potential at the input, by means of a reference electrode (RE) and a counter electrode (CE) connected to a potentiostat* and the measurement of the ouput current, between the reference electrode and the working electrode (WE), which will allow the impedance (alternating current electrode) to be calculated. In this case, it is the metal aerosol can (or a container, metal bottle) which constitutes the working electrode.

In order to be able to measure an output current, it is necessary that the prodcut – the electrolyte – has a minimum conductivity. This measurement is carried out at different frequencies during the test, typically between 100 mHz and 100 kHz.

The physical model used to quantify the response to the product, the electrolyte, is a RLC model: resistance, inductance, capacity (see figure below). To quantify the quality of the coating used, we are interested by the resistance and capacity values and and their changes over time. In this goal, several measurements are carried out at regular intervals, over a period of one month, to characterize the stability of the coating to extended contact with the product.

The Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is a technique that allows a rapid and reliable initial assessment of the compatiblity of a coating towards a given product. This method is complementary to storage tests for the evaluation of container-content compatibility, as it is not possible to evaluate compatibility in the gas phase with this technique.

This is an effective method to compare different varnishes between them and to anticipate faster incompatibilities. Thanks to the new generation of potentiostat*, with which the LEREM is equipped, it is possible to measure very low output signals (currents), which makes it possible to obtain a response with resistance and capacity values even with very poorly conductive formulations.

* Potentiostat: accurate device that generates and measures low electrical signals with electrodes for electrochemical studies.

Electrochemical studies include other techniques as tin rate measurements on tinplate sheets as well as corrosion current measurements by amperometry. These studies will be the subjects of a future article.

In July 2023, at a stakeholder webinar, the EU’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG Sante) announced a ban on the intentional use of bisphenol A (BPA) and potentially several other bisphenols. This ban is due to come into force at the beginning of 2024, with a transition period of 18 months. This ban should have an impact on the metal packaging sector, particularly through varnishes and coatings containing the targeted bisphenols.

In France, the intentional use of BPA has been banned since 1 December 2015. The ban prompted research and development of alternatives to epoxy-phenolic coatings containing BPA. Food contact material (FCM) manufacturers have made huge efforts to develop alternative coatings. However, the chemistry of new coatings applied to the internal surfaces of metal FCMs is poorly documented.  As a result, the potential hazard of chemicals migrating into foodstuffs is also unknown.

The lack of knowledge about these new types of coating, which have a shorter research history, tends to make compliance with the regulations more complex, particularly where NIAS (non-intentionally added substances) are concerned. Until now, regulations have focused mainly on the control of intentionally added substances (IAS), but the safety of FCMs in the form of final articles is becoming increasingly important.  More attention is now required for controlling the risks associated with NIAS (impurities, neoformed substances, contaminants, etc.).

The collaborative work of over 20 scientists, which was published on 26 September 2023, has highlighted the need for a new conceptual approach to go beyond current risk assessment procedures for FCMs.

The authors propose to evaluate real-life mixtures, migrating (or extractable) from final articles in contact with food. This proposition includes all knowns (IAS) and unknowns (NIAS). If the result of the toxicological assessment of the mixture is positive, modern analytical techniques should be applied to elucidate it’s chemical composition, including the NIAS, in order to identify the substances responsible for the toxicity as a whole.

This and some more important topics were discussed during the CFA Technical Information Day held on Wednesday 8 November at the Maison de l’Amérique Latine in Paris with the participation of the LEREM team.

Paris Packaging Week is coming up again on 17 and 18 January in Paris. It’s a great opportunity to discover the latest innovations and trends in metal packaging sector. Our team will be present on the Comité Français des Aérosols stand V70.

Join us at Paris Packaging Week 17&18 January 2024.

📆 17 – 18 January 2024
📌Stand V70 – Paris porte de Versailles

The LEREM and INERIS, National Institute for the Industrial Environment and Risks, have carried out a study with a use case to Assess genuine flammability hazard of halogenated species for their safe processing and use.

The scientific article written by B. Tribouilloy, G. Binotto, F. Flécheux, A. Vignes and G. Marlair and published on the ScienceDirect platform is available below.