EU legislation of food contact materials: A long road to harmonisation

Since the nineteen-eighties, the EU tries to ensure consumer safety (and improve trade
What are food contact materials?
Food contact materials are all
materials and articles which can
reasonably be expected to come
into contact with food. These can
be made from plastics, rubber,
paper and metal. Examples are:
• packaging materials
• bottles (plastic and glass)
• containers cutlery, dishes
• domestic appliances (e.g.
coffee makers)
• adhesives and inks for printing
labels.
vinyl chloride monomer and nitrosamines
within EU Member States) by harmonising the
legislation on food contact materials. The aim of
this legislation is to avoid that dangerous
substances used in the manufacture of these
materials are transferred to food (so called
‘migration’) making sure that this migration does
not cause safety concerns, change the
composition of the food or effect the taste and
odour of foods. Also the legislation establishes
that these materials should be manufactured in
accordance with good manufacturing practices
(GMPs), Until now, there are three types of
legislation:
• A general framework
• Several specific legislation on materials,
such as active and intelligent materials,
ceramics cellulose film and plastics
• Specific legislation on substances such as

The current legislation at EU level still leaves a lot of space for the EU Member States’
interpretation. Not all materials are covered and Member States can impose different
requirement for the same material. At the moment finding all applicable requirements for
a single EU Member State can be a difficult job. However, the CBI can help you providing
this information for each Member State in its market information database.

One step forward: a positive list for additives in plastics

Since 1 January 2010, this legislation is again one step closer to harmonisation. Well, at
least for plastic materials and articles. Starting from this date only additives included in
an EU-harmonised positive list may be used in plastic food contact materials. This means
that where in the past countries such as France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The
Netherlands and Spain had their own national requirements, now all Member States have
to comply with the EU requirements and may only use the substances on the positive
list.

Don’t have your products recalled
Food safety is an important issue in the EU.
Under EU law it is forbidden to place unsafe
food products on the market. Food contact
materials fall within the scope of this
legislation and authorities will do anything to
avoid unsafe products entering the EU
market. In fact, every EU Member State will
immediately notify all other Member States
in case of presumption of unsafe food
contact material (and other food products) to
prevent the product of entering any EU
market. For this purpose the EU has a
warning system: RASFF.
RASFF includes a database that the Member
States can use to communicate with each
other concerning which products are
reported as unsafe and which measures are
taken to protect consumers. Producers of
What can you do to avoid unsafe
products?
To make sure that the plastics you use in
your products or for the packaging of your
food products are safe, you can do the
following:
• Have close communication with your
supplier of (packaging) materials to
know which materials and additives you
use
• Check if the plastic packaging you
use, only contain additives included in
the ‘positive list’
• Check if migration limits are met
• Demand test reports
• Search for more environmentally
friendly alternatives, such as
biodegradable plastics
• Check the ‘positive list’ on a regular
basis, since scientific developments
may change the authorities opinions on
substances
• Get familiar and use the Good
Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) on
food contact material
food products or food contact materials aiming to set up an efficient EU trade channel
are recommended to refer to this database for a look into the ‘real world’ of an EU that is
strictly supervising all food products entering its territory. A change of requirements, in
this case the new positive list of additives, often leads to extra awareness from
enforcement authorities. For example, the Dutch authorities has already indicated to pay
more attention to this legislation.

Stay up to date on the latest market access requirements with CBI

A rejection from the EU market is the last thing an exporter wants. It will directly lead to
financial damage and may also spoil a company’s reputation. Producers of food products
or food contact materials should therefore make sure that their products meet all legal
requirements. Since it is often difficult to find out all requirements, CBI provides practical
information on its website.

More information on the legislation on food contact materials on EU and national level,
good manufacturing practices, traceability and other legislative and non-legislative
requirements that may influence your export to the European Union can be found in CBIs
Market Information Database (www.cbi.eu/marketinfo).

Anton de Boer is an external expert who works for the CBI on Market Access
Requirements. Email: marketaccess@cbi.eu