Food legislation and food safety – March 2026

Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – rules and regulations
EU: The EP has published a briefing (1.89 MB) entitled ‘Food contact materials in the EU: State of play’. Smithers has published Q&A on regulatory requirements for novel and recycled materials in FCMs. You can download the Q&A after filling in your details. Switzerland: The packaging institute SVI has published guidelines on the interpretation of the Swiss Ordinance on Printing Inks. The updated ordinance 817.023.21 (in German) entered into force on 1 February 2026. The new article 35a requires a Declaration of Compliance (DoC) at all marketing stages, except for retail sales, for printing ink layers as a component of a consumer product, for printing inks, and for the materials used in the manufacture of printing inks. Thailand: SGS reports that the Thai Food and Drug Administration has opened a consultation on its proposed amendment to the law on food containers. Among other things, the amendment adds requirements for packaging materials made from materials other than plastic.

Claims, marking and labelling – rules and regulations
EU: The Council and the EP have reached a provisional agreement on amendments to the regulation on the common market organisation of agricultural products to strengthen the farmers’ role in the supply chain. The changes include establishing rules on the protection of ‘meat’ term and the specification that names such as beef, chicken and steak shall be reserved for meat products only. The Council has also adopted the regulation on the 'wine package'. Among other things, labelling rules will become more simplified across the EU. Consumers will gain clearer access to information, including through digital labels and pictograms. Australia/New Zealand: The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) was updated in August 2025 making it mandatory for most packaged alcoholic beverages to declare energy content information. The government recently published a guidance document for this. The government has also requested FSANZ to prepare a Proposal on mandating the Health Star Rating (HSR) system in the Code. The system is currently voluntary; however uptake remains well below the 70% target. US: The FDA is extending the comment period to 22 April 2026 on the Request for Information regarding labelling and preventing cross-contact of gluten in packaged food.

Research
In a recent review study, FPF colleagues examine the potential role of three plastic-derived chemicals (PFOA, BPS and DINP). All of these chemicals have been found in or to migrate from FCMs according to FPF’s Database on Extractable and Migrating Food Contact Chemicals (FCCmigex). Evidence shows that exposure to PFOA, BPS, and DINP is linked to metabolic dysfunction, obesity, diabetes, and liver disease. Because BPS and DINP are structurally similar to other known hazardous chemicals, they are often used as replacements. However, structural similarity is also associated with similar toxicological properties, leading to regrettable substitution. The study (784 kB) is published in Environmental Endocrinology.
Despite the advantages of food packaging coatings (e.g., improved barrier properties or spoilage inhibition) they also pose safety concerns due to migration of chemicals into the food. A review study led by researchers from the University of West Attica outlines the main types of functional coatings, their active mechanisms, and associated safety issues. The study (286 kB) is published in Foods.
 

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