| HS Code | 769883 |
| Product Name | BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade |
| Chemical Name | Vinyl Acetate Monomer |
| Cas Number | 108-05-4 |
| Molecular Formula | C4H6O2 |
| Molecular Weight | 86.09 g/mol |
| Appearance | Clear, colorless liquid |
| Purity | ≥99.9% |
| Boiling Point | 72-73°C at 1013 hPa |
| Melting Point | -93°C |
| Flash Point | -8°C (closed cup) |
| Autoignition Temperature | 427°C |
| Density | 0.934 g/cm³ at 20°C |
| Vapor Pressure | 120 hPa at 20°C |
| Solubility In Water | 20 g/L at 20°C |
| Food Contact Compliance | EU 10/2011 and FDA 21 CFR 175.105 compliant |
As an accredited BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade is packaged in 190 kg nitrogen-blanketed steel drums, ensuring purity and safe food-contact quality. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL container loading of BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade, ensuring safe, hygienic transport for food-grade vinyl acetate monomer. |
| Shipping | Ship BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade in clean, dedicated containers to prevent contamination. Ensure all packaging is clearly labeled for food-contact use and protected from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. Follow local chemical transport regulations, secure loads properly, and maintain documentation confirming food-grade compliance throughout transit. |
| Storage | Store BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade in tightly sealed, approved containers in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area. Keep away from heat, ignition sources, direct sunlight, oxidizing agents, acids, and peroxides. Maintain temperature control to prevent polymerization and monitor inhibitor levels. Use spark-proof equipment and ground containers to avoid static discharge. |
| Shelf Life | The shelf life of BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade is 12 months under proper storage conditions. |
In flexible packaging lamination, a carboxylated vinyl acetate–ethylene dispersion for two-component laminating adhesives on printed polyethylene terephthalate-to-aluminium foil duplex structures is produced with a monomer feed of 70–85 wt% BASF VAM FC, 15–30 wt% ethylene, and 0.5–2.0 wt% of a carboxyl-bearing comonomer such as acrylic acid or maleic anhydride. The food-contact status of the formulated adhesive is assessed under FDA 21 CFR 175.105 for the adhesive function, 21 CFR 176.170 where the adhesive is carried on paper or paperboard, and Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 Annex I for the finished multilayer structure; vinyl acetate is subject to a specific migration limit of 12 mg/kg food or food simulant, while overall migration must not exceed 10 mg/dm². The polymerization is conducted as a semicontinuous emulsion process in a jacketed stainless reactor of 20–40 m³ working volume with pitched-blade turbine agitation at 80–120 rpm, using hydroxyethyl cellulose or polyvinyl alcohol protective colloid at 1.5–4.0 wt% based on total monomer and a potassium persulfate/sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate redox initiator system at 55–75 °C. Ethylene is metered to maintain 20–60 bar reactor pressure, and the vinyl acetate feed is delayed over 4–6 h to control copolymer composition drift; a variation larger than ±2 wt% in vinyl acetate incorporation during the feed window produces viscosity fluctuations and poor wet-out on corona-treated polyethylene. Residual VAM is reduced in a post-polymerization stripping unit to ≤500 ppm, and food-contact laminating grades are stripped to ≤50 ppm where the converter’s migration model cannot guarantee a continuous functional barrier. The terminal products are multilayer flexible pouches, retortable stand-up pouches, paperboard carton side-seam bonding, and film-to-film laminates for dry and fatty foods; these adhesives are not applied as direct food-contact coatings unless separately cleared under 21 CFR 176.170.
Production-scale converters running these dispersions at 30–60 m/min on lamination towers observe two limiting process variables: wetting failure on aluminium foil when dynamic surface tension exceeds 38 mN/m, and foaming in the gravure pan when defoamer drops below 0.05 wt% of formulation. Wetting failure is corrected by corona discharge at 2–3 kW and by dilution with deionized water to 20–25 s flow cup viscosity, which lowers dry adhesive deposit from 2.0 g/m² to 1.6–1.8 g/m² and therefore requires revalidation of bond strength under ASTM F904-16. The dispersion pH is maintained at 4.5–5.5 with sodium bicarbonate; below 4.0 the aluminium oxide layer is attacked and bond strength decays after 7–14 d at 40 °C. The dispersion must not be compounded with cationic rheology modifiers or aluminium sulfate coagulants before film formation because premature coagulation produces lumps that block 200-mesh filters and reduce adhesive transfer. If the laminate passes ASTM F904-16 seal strength and migration testing, it is converted into ready-to-eat snack pouches, dry soup packaging, and lidding films.
Chewing gum base manufacture requires polyvinyl acetate synthesized from BASF VAM FC by free-radical solution polymerization in ethyl acetate or acetone, with molecular weight controlled by chain transfer to solvent and initiator loading; the resulting PVAc must meet the food additive specification in FDA 21 CFR 172.615(b), which recognizes polyvinyl acetate as a masticatory substance with molecular weight not less than 2,000 and not more than 50,000, and JECFA specifications for polyvinyl acetate include a residual vinyl acetate monomer limit of not more than 10 mg/kg. The monomer is fed at 60–80 wt% solids in a refluxing solvent system at 70–80 °C, with azobisisobutyronitrile or benzoyl peroxide at 0.1–0.5 wt% on monomer; the exotherm is controlled by reflux cooling and by metering the monomer over 3–5 h to avoid an uncontrolled increase in molecular weight distribution. In the finished gum base, PVAc is compounded at 25–35 wt% for stick gum and 15–25 wt% for pellet gum, blended with ester gum, microcrystalline wax, calcium carbonate, and elastomer in a sigma-blade mixer at 50–60 °C for 45–90 min; the PVAc phase contributes to elastic memory and is observed as reduced cold flow when PVAc is increased from 15 wt% to 30 wt%. Overdosing PVAc above 40 wt% produces a hard, leathery chew with poor flavour release, while below 10 wt% the gum loses elasticity and is prone to sticking to dentures. The downstream process continues through a cooling tunnel at 10–15 °C, extrusion, rolling to 1.2–2.0 mm thickness, scoring and wrapping under 40–50% RH to prevent sugar bloom. Terminal products are sugar-free stick chewing gum, pellet gum, bubble gum formulations, and coated gum centers.
| Scenario | Primary food-contact standard | Key monomer or material limit | Test method |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAE laminating adhesive | FDA 21 CFR 175.105; 21 CFR 176.170; EU 10/2011 | Vinyl acetate SML 12 mg/kg; overall migration 10 mg/dm² | ASTM F904-16; EN 1186-1:2002 |
| Chewing gum base PVAc | FDA 21 CFR 172.615(b); JECFA polyvinyl acetate monograph | Molecular weight 2,000–50,000; residual vinyl acetate ≤10 mg/kg | GC-FID monomer residue; GPC molecular weight |
| PVOH barrier coating | FDA 21 CFR 177.1670; EU 10/2011 | Vinyl acetate migration 12 mg/kg | ASTM D3985-17; EN 1186-1:2002 |
| EVA food-contact film | FDA 21 CFR 177.1350; EU 10/2011 | Vinyl acetate migration 12 mg/kg | ISO 1133-1:2022; ASTM F2029-16 |
| Paperboard barrier coating | FDA 21 CFR 176.170; 21 CFR 176.180; EU 10/2011 | Overall migration 10 mg/dm² | EN 1186-1:2002 |
For clear high-barrier pouches, polyvinyl alcohol barrier coatings are produced by first polymerizing BASF VAM FC in a methanol solution at 60–70 wt% solids using a continuous stirred-tank reactor train; the polyvinyl acetate is then subjected to alkaline methanolysis with sodium methoxide at 0.5–1.5 mol% relative to acetate groups at 40–50 °C to achieve a degree of hydrolysis of 98–99 mol%. The food-contact qualification of the derived PVOH is governed by FDA 21 CFR 177.1670 for polyvinyl alcohol film and by EU 10/2011, with vinyl acetate migration evaluated against the 12 mg/kg SML; the residual vinyl acetate in the PVOH is controlled to ≤0.1 wt% before dissolution. The aqueous coating solution is formulated at 8–15 wt% PVOH solids with 5–15 phr of glycerin or sorbitol as plasticizer and 0.05–0.2 wt% of a nonionic surfactant to control foam; solution viscosity at 25 °C ranges from 20–100 mPa·s depending on degree of hydrolysis and molecular weight. Application to corona-treated PET or oriented polypropylene is performed by reverse gravure or slot-die coating at 5–10 m/min and dried in three zones at 80–100 °C, 100–120 °C, and 80–90 °C; residual water above 2 wt% causes blocking and haze in the reel. The oxygen transmission rate of a 1.0 µm dry PVOH layer can be below 0.5 cm³/(m²·day·bar) at 23 °C and 0% RH as measured by ASTM D3985-17, but at 60% RH the barrier deteriorates by a factor of 5–10; therefore the PVOH layer is used as a core layer between hydrophobic outer layers. Finished goods include clear high-barrier pouches for nuts and dry bakery goods, bag-in-box liners, and multilayer barrier trays for retortable ready meals.
Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resins for heat-sealable food packaging films are manufactured by high-pressure free-radical polymerization using BASF VAM FC as the polar comonomer at 5–18 wt% vinyl acetate incorporation. Materials falling under FDA 21 CFR 177.1350 are governed by extractive limits in food simulants, and under EU 10/2011 residual vinyl acetate migration must not exceed 12 mg/kg; typical commercial EVA for food-contact sealant layers is specified with vinyl acetate content 8–12 wt%, melt index 2–7 g/10 min at 190 °C/2.16 kg per ISO 1133-1:2022, and crystallinity below 20% to ensure sealing at 85–105 °C. The polymerization is run in an autoclave or tubular reactor at 1,800–2,500 bar and 180–250 °C, with chain transfer agents to control molecular weight; BASF VAM FC is injected into the ethylene stream at a predetermined ratio, and the MEHQ inhibitor is diluted below 1 ppm in the feed to prevent radical scavenging. The downstream film process uses a three-layer blown-film line with screw diameter 50–75 mm, L/D 30:1, die gap 1.5–2.5 mm, and blow-up ratio 2.0–3.0:1; EVA forms the sealant layer at 10–20% of total film thickness, while LLDPE or mLLDPE forms the outer layers. Traction and winding at 20–40 m/min with ambient air cooling produce film with seal initiation temperature ≤95 °C as measured by ASTM F2029-16. Below 5 wt% vinyl acetate, seal strength becomes inconsistent below 110 °C; above 18 wt%, blocking tendency and film-to-film slip increase beyond line handling limits unless antiblock is added at 1,000–2,000 ppm. Finished forms are frozen-food pouches, fresh-produce bags, bag-in-box inner liners, and lamination sealant webs.
| Vinyl acetate content in EVA sealant layer | Seal initiation temperature by ASTM F2029-16 | Blocking tendency | Typical processing consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 wt% | 105–115 °C | Low | Requires LLDPE outer layers; suitable for hot-fill lidding |
| 8–12 wt% | 85–105 °C | Moderate | Standard food-contact sealant web; add 500–1,000 ppm silica |
| 18 wt% | 75–85 °C | High | Requires 1,000–2,000 ppm antiblock and chilled winding |
When a paper mill replaces low-density polyethylene extrusion with aqueous vinyl acetate–ethylene dispersion coating on single-use food service board, the formulation solids are compounded at 55–65 wt% total solids, of which 60–75 dry parts is BASF VAM FC-derived VAE dispersion, 20–35 dry parts plate-like talc or mica, 0.5–1.5 dry parts ammonium polyacrylate dispersant, and 0.3–0.8 dry parts silicone defoamer. The coated board must satisfy FDA 21 CFR 176.170 for aqueous and fatty foods or 21 CFR 176.180 for dry foods, and EU 10/2011 overall migration below 10 mg/dm²; coatings containing recycled fibre may require an additional functional barrier layer because mineral-oil and phthalate migration cannot be attributed to the VAM FC feedstock. Application is performed with a rod coater or bent-blade coater at 200–600 m/min on a paper machine coater section, at a dry coating weight of 5–12 g/m², followed by IR and air-drying to board moisture 5–7%. The dispersion is not repulper-compatible in all mills; dried coating breaks into particles and may reduce reclaimed fibre brightness if not removed in flotation. Post-coating internal bond strength is checked by TAPPI T 569; values below 350 J/m² indicate fibre-tear loss at the converting die. Terminal products are hot cups, folded cartons for takeaway, and moulded plates with a water-based barrier layer.
Competitive BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade prices that fit your budget—flexible terms and customized quotes for every order.
For samples, pricing, or more information, please contact us at +8615380400285 or mail to sales2@liwei-chem.com.
We will respond to you as soon as possible.
Tel: +8615380400285
Email: sales2@liwei-chem.com
Flexible payment, competitive price, premium service - Inquire now!
BASF VAM FC Food Contact Grade is a vinyl acetate monomer product designation intended for polymerisation processes in which the finished polymer or copolymer must satisfy food-contact compliance criteria. The substance is identified by CAS 108-05-4, EC 203-545-4, and molecular formula CH₃COOCH=CH₂. At 20 °C the liquid has a density of approximately 0.934 g/cm³; the normal boiling point is 72.7 °C, and the freezing point is −93.4 °C. The material is handled as a clear, low-viscosity liquid stabilised against unplanned radical polymerisation. The FC designation is attached to the compliance documentation and to the quality-control boundaries for residual inhibitor, water, acid, and colour rather than to a separate monomer backbone chemistry.
The monomer is not a finished food-contact article; suitability is established after polymerisation, residual monomer reduction, and migration testing on the final polymer or article. In the European regulatory framework, vinyl acetate is listed as a permitted starting substance under Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, Annex I, with a specific migration limit of 12 mg/kg food simulant. In United States food-contact practice, polymers derived from VAM FC may be evaluated under FDA 21 CFR 172.615 for chewing gum base, FDA 21 CFR 175.105 for adhesives, and FDA 21 CFR 177.1350 for ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers.
The separation is primarily created by the quality-control envelope and the batch-specific conformance documentation. General-purpose vinyl acetate may meet the same assay specification for polymerisation, but it is not necessarily managed to the same documentary standard for food-contact starting substances, nor is its inhibitor and byproduct profile always aligned with the requirements of EU 10/2011 and the relevant FDA 21 CFR sections. For VAM FC Food Contact Grade, the inhibitor package is selected and quantified so that residual phenolic inhibitor does not create additional migration that is not accounted for in the compliance assessment of the finished polymer. In common commercial practice, the stabiliser is hydroquinone at a concentration of 3–5 ppm, with batch certificate data providing the actual measured level for downstream induction-period calculations.
Byproduct control is similarly constrained. Water and acetic acid are monitored because both participate in hydrolysis and transfer reactions that can shift copolymer molecular weight and adhesive performance. Colour is controlled at low Pt-Co values because colour generated in the monomer can persist through polymerisation and cause rejection in transparent food-packaging films. Technical-grade material may carry the same main assay value but with different byproduct ceilings or different inhibitor identity; the FC grade provides documented starting-monomer conformance to the specified limits for food-contact polymer production.
The matrix below summarises the specification framework commonly applied to FC food-contact grade vinyl acetate monomer. Values are representative of the grade and are used by converters to set pre-process quality gates.
| Parameter | Test method | Typical control limit |
|---|---|---|
| Vinyl acetate assay | GC-FID internal method | ≥ 99.9 wt% |
| Water | ASTM E203 / ISO 760 | ≤ 0.05 wt% |
| Acidity as acetic acid | ASTM D1613 | ≤ 0.005 wt% |
| Colour | ASTM D1209 | ≤ 5 Pt-Co |
| Inhibitor as hydroquinone | UV-vis or HPLC | 3–5 ppm |
| Density at 20 °C | ASTM D4052 | 0.934 g/cm³ |
Water content at or below 0.05 wt% is important in ethylene-vinyl acetate high-pressure copolymerisation because water can promote hydrolysis of ester groups at elevated temperatures, altering melt rheology and reducing molecular weight. Acidity, measured as acetic acid, is limited to 0.005 wt% to prevent acidic species from destabilising protective colloids and buffering systems in emulsion polymerisation. Colour at ≤ 5 Pt-Co supports conversion to low-haze films and adhesives. The hydroquinone stabiliser at 3–5 ppm establishes an induction-period offset rather than a full inhibitor demand; redox-initiated systems may require an additional initiator precharge to consume residual inhibitor before the target polymerisation rate is achieved.
For batch converters, the presence of the inhibitor means polymerisation start-up must be modelled as a system with a small radical scavenger fraction. The effect on vinyl acetate emulsion homopolymerisation is usually observed as a longer induction time and not as a significant change in steady-state rate after all inhibitor has been consumed. Continuous processes, by contrast, see a shift in the residence-time-weighted radical balance that can be corrected by increasing the level of redox pair or by setting a mild nitrogen sparge to suppress dissolved oxygen, which acts as a secondary inhibitor.
In a typical PVAc conversion line for chewing gum base, VAM FC is charged to a jacketed glass-lined stirred reactor equipped with a reflux condenser and a radial-flow turbine. The reaction is run as a semi-continuous emulsion polymerisation at 70–80 °C, with the vinyl acetate fed over a programmed addition profile to control heat release. After the monomer feed is completed, the batch is held at temperature to reduce free monomer; a final vacuum or steam stripping stage lowers residual vinyl acetate to below the level that would contribute to migration above 12 mg/kg in the finished base. The polymer is then processed into an appropriate molecular-weight fraction for FDA 21 CFR 172.615 compliance.
For EVA copolymers used in flexible food-contact films, VAM FC is copolymerised with ethylene in high-pressure autoclave or tubular reactors at pressures from 1,500 bar to 2,500 bar and temperatures from 160 °C to 220 °C. The vinyl acetate incorporation is commonly in the range 4–40 wt%, depending on the target clarity, sealing performance, and low-temperature flexibility. The FC designation is relevant here because unreacted monomer and thermal degradation byproducts such as acetic acid or acetaldehyde can remain in the polymer pellet and influence organoleptic thresholds. Converters typically specify low residual VAM after extrusion and may use a devolatilising twin-screw extruder with an L/D greater than 40 to reduce residual monomer in the melt. Compliance is verified against EU 10/2011 and FDA 21 CFR 177.1350.
For polyvinyl alcohol and ethylene-vinyl alcohol barrier layers, VAM FC is first polymerised to polyvinyl acetate or EVA, then the ester groups are hydrolysed with a base catalyst. The food-contact grade limits transition-metal and aldehyde impurities that can remain in the final barrier polymer and affect haze, gel count, or oxygen barrier. In multilayer film coextrusion, the EVOH layer is typically positioned between polyolefin tie layers; the oxygen transmission rate of the barrier layer is controlled by the ethylene content, usually 27–44 mol%, and by the molecular orientation applied during film stretching. Compliance for the final structure is evaluated under EU 10/2011, including the specific migration limit for vinyl acetate, even though the ester function is largely converted.
Finished-article converters set residual vinyl acetate specifications below the EU specific migration limit of 12 mg/kg food simulant, with internal action limits often lower to account for method uncertainty and to avoid organoleptic defect. Specific migration testing is performed on the final article using food simulants defined in Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, Annex III and Annex V, with determination commonly by headspace gas chromatography or gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. In adhesive applications, the relevant United States regulation is FDA 21 CFR 175.105, which does not assign a numerical vinyl acetate migration limit but requires that the adhesive be used in accordance with good manufacturing practices and that the food-contact surface be functionally separated. The FC grade is supplied to allow formulators to meet these obligations with a documented starting monomer.
Because vinyl acetate is volatile and water-soluble, residual monomer distributes differently across polymer, paper, and aqueous food simulants. For paper and paperboard coatings, converters may evaluate migration under FDA 21 CFR 176.170 or FDA 21 CFR 176.180 depending on the intended food type and use condition. Published data for this specific configuration is limited; testing on the finished article is generally required because the paper substrate’s retention of residual monomer cannot be predicted from the monomer certificate alone.
Batch-to-batch variation in VAM FC is most observable in emulsion polymerisation lines as changes in the induction time after initiator addition. A monomer batch with 3 ppm hydroquinone may initiate within a shorter induction period than a batch with 5 ppm, and this difference can be comparable to the effect of dissolved oxygen in the reactor. Production-scale reactors with high cooling capacity and large monomer inventory may use a pre-reduction step with a stoichiometric amount of sodium metabisulfite or a mild air sparge before the main initiator feed begins. Continuous vinyl acetate conversion in a cascade of stirred reactors requires inhibitor compensation in the first reactor; otherwise the molecular weight distribution shifts slightly toward the later reactor stages.
Water and acid differences are also important at scale. In high-pressure EVA conversion, an increase in water from 0.02 wt% to 0.05 wt% may increase ester hydrolysis at the reactor hot spot, yielding acetic acid that can corrode unlined steel surfaces and generate off-spec melt flow. The FC grade’s tighter water and acidity limits reduce this sensitivity but do not remove the need for reactor feed conditioning with dried ethylene and filtered monomer.
For food-contact adhesive and laminating applications, VAM FC is used to produce high-solids vinyl acetate-ethylene emulsions and vinyl acetate-acrylic copolymers. These emulsions are formulated with protective colloids and surfactants that must also meet the relevant positive-list or migration limits. The glass transition temperature of the copolymer is typically adjusted with ethylene or acrylic comonomer to provide low-temperature film formation without external plasticiser; residual monomer from the VAM feed is controlled by post-polymerisation redox finishing. The FC grade contributes to the final adhesive’s compliance package under FDA 21 CFR 175.105 and EU 10/2011 by providing a starting monomer with documented impurity levels.
The following compliance matrix summarises the core food-contact routes for polymers derived from VAM FC.
| Regulatory reference | Scope | Condition or relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, Annex I | Monomer for plastic food-contact materials | SML for vinyl acetate: 12 mg/kg |
| FDA 21 CFR 172.615 | Chewing gum base | Polyvinyl acetate as masticatory substance; GMP |
| FDA 21 CFR 175.105 | Adhesives | Indirect additive; functional separation required |
| FDA 21 CFR 177.1350 | Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers | Food-contact articles; specified use conditions |
| FDA 21 CFR 176.170 / 176.180 | Paper and paperboard coatings | End-article migration testing required |
| Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 | Good manufacturing practice for food-contact materials | Risk assessment and batch documentation |
In high-barrier retort pouch structures, the VAM-derived EVOH layer is coextruded with polyolefin tie layers and an outer printing web. The orientation and retort conditions are specific to the finished laminate, and the manufacturer must revalidate migration after each change in retort temperature, hold time, or thickness. FC grade monomer documentation reduces the raw-material uncertainty in that revalidation but does not substitute for the required finished-article testing under EU 10/2011 or FDA 21 CFR.
