Food legislation and food safety – August 2024

Food Contact Materials (FCMs) – rules and regulations
EU: The EU has informed the WTO of its draft regulation on banning Bisphenol A (BPA) in FCMs. This proposal is intended to be adopted in November 2024. EFSA has updated the guidance on applying for the authorisation of a ‘post‐consumer mechanical PET’ recycling process intended to be used for manufacturing FCMs. In a recent briefing (4.25 MB), ZWE calls for phasing out PVC in food packaging. China: Keller and Heckman reports that the CFSA is soliciting comments on expanded usage for one additive and one resin for FCMs. Georgia: SGS reports that the government has issued a technical regulation on regenerated cellulose film FCMs. It will become effective on 1 January 2026. Thailand: SGS reports that the WTO has circulated two draft ministerial regulations mandating the use of several standards for plastic bags for food and plastic bags containing food for heating in the microwave. US: The FDA has added five new substances and seven other new substances to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substances (FCS) Notifications, Keller and Heckman reports. Rhode Island: SGS reports that the ban on PFAS in food packaging has been postponed from 31 July 2024 to 1 January 2025.

Claims, marking and labelling
EU: KCB (in Dutch) reports that from 1 January 2025, country of origin labelling for fruit and vegetables will become mandatory under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429. The EC has recently decided to register a EU Citizens' Initiative that calls for ensuring clear and explicit labelling of the origin for all products. JRC has published a report (2.01 MB) on sustainability labelling in the EU food sector. France: The government (in French) recently launched the ‘Origin'Info’ initiative to inform consumers about the countries of origin of agricultural products used in processed foods. It involves the use of a logo on a large number of products. More than a hundred brands have already signed up for an initial trial phase. Hungary: Draft legislation on the use of the term ‘energy drink’ has been sent to the EC. India: The government reports that the FSSAI has approved a proposal to display nutritional information regarding Total Sugar, Salt and Saturated Fat in bold letters and increased font size on labels of packaged food items. NL: Over a quarter of the wholemeal products investigated by NVWA (in Dutch) are wrongly named wholemeal. Producers must now modify their packaging.

Research
Florey researchers have found evidence of higher levels of BPA in pregnant mothers who gave birth to sons with autism. An article (3.31 MB) about the research is published in Nature Communications.
Researchers at Nagaland University studied the role of packaging materials in microplastic contamination during food processing. An article (1.48 MB) about the research is published in Food Science and Engineering.
LNE researchers studied the migration of contaminants from recycled PET (rPET) sandwiched between two virgin layers to assess the long-term implications for food safety. The study (1.94 MB) is published in Resources, Environment and Sustainability.
 

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