Food Contact Materials – Waiting for the new EU legislation?
For several years now, there has been talk about the evaluation of the current Framework Regulation on Food Contact Materials and the possible need for revision in the light of technological progress, both for materials and testing and analysis applicable techniques.
Food Contact Materials and articles, known as FCM, include packaging, everyday objects such as kitchenware, and all materials and components used in the production, preparation, storage and distribution of food. Regulation (EC) no. 1935/2004 states that such materials must not transfer their components into food in quantities that endanger human health or alter food composition or organoleptic properties.
The European Commission wanted to assess the need to revise this Framework Regulation. The purpose is to determine whether the current EU legislative framework on FCMs is fit for purpose and whether it produces the expected results.
At the end of 2017, the Roadmap of the evaluation was launched, starting with an initial feedback-gathering period, followed by the execution of supporting studies and several transversal initiatives involving key stakeholders. The public consultation was opened in 2019, also enriched by focus groups, workshops, involvement of national authorities, private companies, consumers, associations, NGOs, etc.
The result of this work is the evaluation in June 2022, which could lead to a revision, an improvement of the Framework Regulation, also aiming to solve the weaknesses that were found.
There is the Framework Regulation but national harmonisation on different materials is lacking
While the Framework Regulation generally covers the scope, definition and traceability necessary for the objective, it is up to material-specific regulations, such as the one for food contact plastics, to cover more precisely certain aspects: the process of risk assessment and authorisation of substances on the positive list, although complex, is transparent and provides more certainty. Regulation 1935/2004 does not precisely define the level of safety and quality that must be guaranteed.
This has led Member States, in some cases, to write national legislation for non-plastic materials: this inevitably made the European market difficult. In fact, the evaluation contains some ‘case examples’ that attest the inconsistencies and difficulties in international trade.
Attentive citizens and an evolving market
The report points out that citizens are showing an increasing interest in food safety and health care related to it. Current legislation seems to be inadequate for the evolution of the market, new materials, in particular for multilayers, bio-based and biodegradable packaging, as well as when applying nanotechnology, chemical recycling, or dealing with active or intelligent Food Contact Materials.
About paper
As for paper, the two areas of challenge are safety and sustainability: harmonisation is expected from this revision of the Framework Regulation, in addition to the practical guidance provided by JRC guidelines. Paper packaging can be designed to be both recyclable and biodegradable: now there is the possibility of combining it with other materials and making it separable from them. Separability and recyclability are strongly linked to the need for the barrier that some materials in combination with plastics may have, also in the light of the forthcoming abandonment of certain functional compounds such as PFAS.
The added value of EU legislation
The evaluation underlines the importance of common regulation in comparison with national laws, because this is more efficient: it is emphasised that manufacturers of non-plastic materials have suffered from a lack of harmonisation in recent years, while plastics manufacturers enjoyed harmonised regulations.
