ASTM International Committee F02 on Flexible Barrier Packaging will hold its next meeting on Sept. 26-27, 2012, at the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I in Barcelona, Spain.

At this meeting, participants will have the opportunity to contribute to the development and revision of a number of standards important to the use and evaluation of flexible barrier packaging.

One of the highlights of the meeting will include a review of the results of the recently completed interlaboratory study for the proposed Test Method for Detecting Leaks in Nonporous Packaging or Flexible Barrier Materials by Dye Penetration (ASTM WK25128) and a discussion regarding next steps. Once completed, this method will provide an inexpensive but sensitive approach for assessing the integrity of nonporous materials. 

For those interested in dye penetration of porous packaging, ASTM F1929, Test Method for Detecting Seal Leaks in Porous Medical Packaging by Dye Penetration, has been updated to include two new testing techniques. The interlaboratory study and subsequent ballot results will be reviewed.
 
Additionally, the ballot results for the proposed standard ASTM WK30771, Test Method for Verifying Flexible Barrier Material Resistance to the Passage of Air will be presented. This standard will provide an indirect method for determining the ability of a material to block the passage of microorganisms into a package.

Also being discussed at the meeting will be an ongoing collaborative interlaboratory study being conducted for the comparison of three different but commonly used standard test methods on water vapor transmission rate. As an exciting supplement to the Barcelona meeting, F02 and its subcommittees have arranged for industry experts to speak on the following topics:

• Future Trends in Permeation Measurements, presented by Franz Sturm, Lipke
• U.S. FDA Perspective: The Use of Standards in Premarket Submissions and Auditing the Medical Device Packaging Process, presented by Pat Weixel, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Microbial Barrier Test Methods for Porous Sterile Barrier Materials, presented by Thierry Wagner, DuPont Medical and Pharmaceutical Protection
• Toward a Package Durability Predictive Model, presented by Henk Blom, Rollprint Packaging Products
• Package Integrity: Methods of Detection, presented by Wendy Mach, Nelson Laboratories
• Use of Design Guide F2097 and U.S. FDA Recognition, Hal Miller, PACE Solutions LLC
• Sterile Medical Device Package Performance Testing and the Nebulous Effect of Vibration in Transit, presented by Pat Nolan, DDL
• ASTM International: ASTM Mechanics and Overview, presented by Diane Trinsey, ASTM Committee F02 staff manager

All are welcome to attend. Registration and meeting information, including abstracts describing the presentations shown above, can be found at www.astm.org/COMMIT/F02/Barcelona_Meeting_info.

Committee F02 develops standards on barrier materials, their properties and package design, development and production. Typical flexible barrier materials include papers, nonwovens, plastic films and metal foils.

ASTM Committee F02 Next Meeting: Sept. 26-27, 2012, Barcelona, Spain
ASTM Staff Contact: Diane Trinsey, Phone: 610-832-9661; dtrinsey@astm.org
ASTM PR Contact: Barbara Schindler, Phone: 610-832-9603; bschindl@astm.org

Release #9289