Food legislation and food safety – August 2025
Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – rules and regulations
FPF has published updates on FCM regulations for a number of countries in South America and in Africa and the Middle East. EU: In an article that you can download after filling in your details, Smithers discusses Regulation 2024/3190 that bans the use of BPA in almost all FCMs. Azerbaijan: SGS reports that the government has published legislation for FCMs based on EU legislation. Chile: SGS reports that the government has initiated a public consultation on its proposal to strengthen the requirements for FCMs. China: Keller and Heckman reports that the NHC has approved a new resin and expanded usage for five additives for FCMs. Keller and Heckman also reports that the CFSA has published draft amendments for the FCM standards GB 9685 on additives and GB 4806.1 on general safety requirements. Denmark: Draft legislation on FCMs has been sent to the EC. India: Keller and Heckman reports that MoEFCC is proposing (1.94 MB, scroll down for English) mandatory recycled content for plastic FCMs. NL: SGS reports that the Commodities Act Regulation on packaging and consumer products (in Dutch) has been amended (in Dutch). A draft amendment adding substances to Part A of the Annex has been sent to the EC. Switzerland: The government (in German) has published legislation (in German, 295 kB) banning BPA and other hazardous bisphenols in FCMs.
Claims, marking and labelling – rules and regulations
EU: The EC has published a proposal for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period after 2027. It introduces marketing standards for protein crops, meat and cheese, including origin labelling. The Council has agreed its position on the 'wine package' proposed by the EC. Among other things, the legislation would further harmonise wine labels. NL: The Advertising Code Committee (RCC) has issued preliminary rulings (in Dutch) in the Foodwatch (in Dutch) case concerning the packaging of ‘free-range’ and organic eggs during the bird flu housing measures. The messages on the egg cartons suggest an outdoor life for the hens. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (in Dutch) will be intensifying its surveillance of sustainability claims in the coffee and cocoa sector. Spain: Draft legislation making it mandatory to use accessible labels (Braille or QR code with tactile mark) for certain products has been sent to the EC. US: The FDA has updated the Compliance Program for food labelling. Key changes include the incorporation of sesame as the ninth major food allergen and guidance on gluten-free labelling requirements. It also aligns with the changes to the Nutrition Facts label. In March 2025, the FDA announced its intention to extend the compliance date for the Food Traceability Rule by 30 months. Recently, the FDA added new tools and FAQ.
Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – research
A study (1.51 MB) published in npj Science of Food shows that FCMs are a source of micro- and nanoplastics in food. The systematic review led by FPF includes 103 studies and the collected data are freely accessible through the FCCMiNo dashboard. Researchers from ANSES (in French) studied the impact of different containers on microplastic contamination in beverages in France. They found that the most contamination in beverages from glass bottles, most likely originating from the paint on the metal caps. The study (2.53 MB) is published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis.
A study (4.6 MB) published in Nature provides a comprehensive catalogue of more than 16,000 known plastic chemicals, with their properties, uses and hazards. The research was carried out by researchers from NTNU, FPF and others. According to a report by Deep Science Ventures, over 3,600 synthetic chemicals from FCMs are found in human bodies globally. You can download the report after filling in your details.
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