Food legislation and food safety – June 2023

Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – rules and regulations
Brazil: SGS reports that the government has set a grayscale standard when cellulosic FCMs are tested to BS EN 646. The new standard will become effective on 22 November 2023. China: Keller and Heckman reports that the CFSA has published a draft amendment to the General Safety Requirements for FCMs (GB 4806.1). EU: FEICA has published a guidance (332 kB) for evaluating the food contact status of adhesives containing mineral oil hydrocarbons and updated the guidance (387 kB) on migration testing of adhesives intended for FCMs. AIMPLAS has published an article on the status of introducing a migration limit for styrene as proposed by the EC. India: SGS reports that the WTO has received a draft order (72 kB) mandating five standards for five categories of FCMs. The categories include tinplate cans for foods and drinks and aluminium cans for beverages. US: The FDA has added five new entries and four other new entries to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) Notifications, Keller and Heckman reports. Oregon: SGS reports that the government has approved SB 543 prohibiting polystyrene foam containers and banning PFAS in food containers as of 1 January 2025. Washington: Keller and Heckman reports that the government has adopted a final rule (460 kB) under the Safer Products for Washington Program, which includes a ban on bisphenol-based epoxy liners in drink cans and a reporting requirement for bisphenol-based epoxy liners in food cans.

Claims, marking and labelling
EU: The Council has reached a provisional agreement with the EP on the labelling of organic pet food. Ireland: The government has signed regulations on health labelling of alcohol products into law. As of 22 May 2026, the labels must state the calorie content and grams of alcohol, warn about the risk of consuming alcohol when pregnant and also warn of the risk of liver disease and cancer. The labels must direct the consumer to www.askaboutalcohol.ie. US: The FDA has extended the comment period for the Draft Guidance for Industry entitled “Questions and Answers About Dietary Guidance Statements in Food Labeling” to 25 September 2023. The FDA has also issued a second procedural notice on its plans to conduct a study entitled “Quantitative Research on Front of Package Labeling on Packaged Foods.”

Research
Researchers at Brunel University London, UCL and Qatar University, working with FPF, analysed 116 studies into how PE packaging chemicals leach into the food and can potentially be absorbed into the body. They found a lack of sufficient evidence to show PE can be safely recycled into new food-grade packaging. The study (1.82 MB) is published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.
In another review article (1.01 MB) published in Plastics, FPF authors reveal the extent of hazardous chemicals that can be present in recycled and reusable plastic FCMs.
A study (3.7 MB) published in Environment International reveals knowledge gaps on PET oligomers migrating from FCMs. The study was led by scientists from the University of Basel and co-authored by scientists from six other institutions, including FPF.
Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are widely used as plasticisers in plastic food packaging. In a study (3.19 MB) published in Environment International, NJUST researchers examine the migration of OPEs from plastic to food.
 

NVC members receive this information with all the relevant links in the monthly NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: info@nvc.nl, +31-(0)182-512411