Food legislation and food safety – August 2022
Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – rules and regulations
EU: The EC is planning to amend Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastic FCMs by the end of 2022. A whitepaper by Intertek that you can download after filling in your details discusses what information is required on a Declaration of Compliance (DoC) to comply with this regulation. The EC has published its 2021 annual report (1.63 MB) on the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). Of the 4607 notifications transmitted, 269 concerned FCMs. An NGO coalition has launched Toxic-Free Food Packaging, a new website providing information and resources about harmful chemicals in FCMs. China: FPF reports the publication of an updated FCM standard for paper and board (in Chinese, 868 kB) as well as a new FCM standard for bamboo and wood (in Chinese, 638 kB). India: Keller and Heckman reports that FSSAI has issued a Notification of Draft Regulations (1.42 MB), inviting public comment on an amendment authorising the use of rPET in FCMs. South Korea: FPF reports that the Food Sanitation Act (in Korean) has been amended to add conditions for the use of recycled content in FCMs. Thailand: SGS reports the publication of new FCM legislation (in Thai, 4.99 MB). Uganda: SGS reports that Uganda has informed the WTO of its intention to publish a new standard for FCMs. US: Keller and Heckman reports that the FDA has added ten new entries to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) Notifications. The FDA has issued a request for information on the use of fluorinated polyethylene in FCMs. Fluorination of polyethylene may result in the formation of PFAS. The FDA has also filed a petition to remove or restrict authorisation for the use of BPA in FCMs. SGS reports that Hawaii is prohibiting PFAS in certain food packaging as of 31 December 2024. SGS also reports that Rhode Island is banning PFAS in food packaging as of 1 January 2024.
Claims, marking and labelling
Canada: The government has announced a mandatory front-of-package nutrition label for foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fat as of 1 January 2026. France: A recent decree (in French) restricts the use of animal designations for non-meat products as of 1 October 2022. NL: Consumers often confuse the Best Before and the Use By date. Therefore Samen Tegen Voedselverspilling (in Dutch) is introducing two icons that producers can place on their packaging voluntarily. UK: FSA reports that from 1 October 2022, food products sold in GB must include a UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man address.
Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – research
FSN reports on a Chinese study (205 kB) published in CDC Weekly in which CFSA researchers link seven COVID-19 outbreaks to frozen food packaging. In an article (382 kB) published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, researchers at the University of Auckland give a compilation of literature studies on the presence of intentionally added substances (IAS) and non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) in food packaging materials. In a review article (1.64 MB) published in the same journal, USC researchers summarise different aspects of coatings used for food and beverage cans, including evidence on migration. Agir pour l'Environnement (in French) has published a report (in French, 4.27 MB) on the presence of microplastics in the most sold bottled waters in France. Seven of the nine waters analysed contained microplastics. Most of these microplastics seem to come from the bottle, the cap and the bottling process. A study (7.66 MB) by Defend Our Health has detected antimony above safe levels in 40% of tested beverages sold in PET bottles. Students at Antwerp University (in Dutch) investigated whether and to what extent PFAS are present in drinking straws made from different materials on the Belgian market. PFAS were detected in almost all straws made of biomaterials. TDU research (1.2 MB) published in Food Chemistry assesses migration from paper FCMs treated with PFAS.
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