Food legislation and food safety – March 2024

Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – rules and regulations
EU: The EC has opened a consultation on a proposed regulation aiming to increase quality control under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 for plastic FCMs. The feedback period closes on 10 April 2024.
The revision of FCM Framework regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 has been delayed. According to the EP, the EC was expected to announce its proposal in the second quarter of 2023. However, it is mentioned neither in the tentative agenda for forthcoming EC meetings nor in the work programme for 2024. It remains uncertain when this proposal will be tabled.
On 10 October 2022, regulation (EU) 2022/1616 for recycled plastic FCMs entered into force. As part of the regulation, EFSA has published a draft guidance document on post-consumer mechanical PET recycling processes. More information can be found in the proceedings of a recent EFSA webinar. Ukraine: SGS reports that the government has approved legislation for plastic FCMs. The legislation will become effective on 19 November 2025. US: The FDA has updated its list of select chemicals currently under review to provide more insight on the status of the FDA’s post-market assessments of these chemicals in the food supply. The list includes FCMs. The FDA has also announced that grease-proofing materials containing PFAS are no longer being sold for use in food packaging in the US. This means the major source of dietary exposure to PFAS from food packaging like fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags and pet food bags is being eliminated.

Claims, marking and labelling
France: The government has published a decree (in French) restricting the use of animal designations for non-meat products. The use of words including “entrecôte,” “filet” and “ham” will be prohibited for these products. NL: As of 1 January 2024, the Netherlands has implemented a new allergen policy (in Dutch), tightening the regulations on warnings about the potential unintended presence of allergens (e.g., ‘may contain traces of ...’). The new policy is based on recommendations from the WHO and FAO. Research conducted by TNO and UMC Utrecht formed the basis for these scientific recommendations. UK: The government has launched a consultation on plans to give shoppers more information about how and where their food is produced and ensure British farmers’ products get the recognition they deserve. US: The USDA has published a rule to align the voluntary “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” label claim with consumer understanding of what the claim means. The rule allows the claim to be used on meat, poultry and egg products only when they are derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the US.
Keller and Heckman reports that the FDA has added three new substances to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) Notifications.

Research on FCMs
Scientists from Cornell have found higher bacterial counts in milk in paperboard single-serving containers than in milk packaged in larger containers from the same facilities. They believe that carton-filling machinery could have contributed to the higher counts.
Daily exposure to chemicals used in the manufacture of plastic food containers and many cosmetics may be tied to nearly 56,600 preterm births in the US in 2018, a NYU study shows.
 

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