In the past, food migration issues have arisen as a result of cardboard packaging materials containing recycled fibres for which one of the primary raw materials is newspapers. Newspaper printing inks, as well as many commercial printing inks, contain mineral oil as solvents. Because the printing ink components are not completely removed during paper and cardboard recycling, mineral oil components can remain in the fibres.

If these substrates are used for food packaging applications, the mineral oil components can migrate from the cardboard into the foodstuffs, even when foodstuffs are protected by an inner bag. Printing inks used for printing packaging materials can also be a source of mineral oil contamination.