Food Contact Materials | Monthly bulletin | January 2020
Alignment of Swiss and European legislation for food contact materials
On 5th November 2019, Swiss confederation published Official Collection 2019 - 3371 with the aim to align Swiss Ordinance on materials and objects intended to come into contact with foodstuffs with European legislation about food contact materials.
It came into effect on December 1, 2019.
The amendment is in different languages (German, french and italian).
Regulatory updates
Please find below a table summarising recent regulation proposals notified to the European Commission (Non-exhaustive):
|
Notification number |
Countries |
Title |
|
|
Romania |
Order on the requirement for economic operators to ensure that consumers are correctly, fully and precisely informed regarding the risks associated with the use of single-use cutlery
It applies to single-use cutlery intended for consumers. Economic operators shall offer at least the following information by displaying it in the place in which the products are being marketed and on the packaging:
The information is to be presented in a clear, easily understandable and readable manner, in Romanian, although this does not exclude the additional use of other languages |
EFSA scientific outputs and others publications
Please find below a table summarising recent updates to risk assessment, technical reports and others news published in the EFSA journal (Non-exhaustive):
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Date |
Title |
|
Update to the risk assessment of ‘wood flour and fibres, untreated’ (FCM No 96) for use in food contact materials, and criteria for future applications of materials from plant origin as additives for plastic food contact materials |
|
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Call for technical and toxicological data on the substances N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)alkyl (C8-C18) amine (FCM No 19) and N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)alkyl (C8-C18) amine hydrochlorides (FCM No 20) for their use in plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, including in food for infants |
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FAQ: phthalates in plastic food contact materials |
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Technical report on the public consultation on the ‘Draft update of the risk assessment of di‐butylphthalate (DBP), butyl‐benzyl‐phthalate (BBP), bis(2‐ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), di‐isononylphthalate (DINP) and di‐isodecylphthalate (DIDP) for use in food contact materials’ |
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Update of the risk assessment of di‐butylphthalate (DBP), butyl‐benzyl‐phthalate (BBP), bis(2‐ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), di‐isononylphthalate (DINP) and di‐isodecylphthalate (DIDP) for use in food contact materials |
Please find below a table summarising with some recent technical publications on food contact materials (non-exhaustive):
|
Date |
Countries |
Entity |
Title |
|
25-11-2019 |
Germany |
BfR |
Do not use "bamboo ware" dishes for hot drinks or food Opinion No. 047/2019 |
|
25-11-2019 |
Germany |
BfR |
Questions and answers about dishes and kitchen utensils made of melamine-formaldehyde resin |
|
25-11-2019 |
Germany |
BfR |
Containers made of melamine-formaldehyde resin such as "Coffee to go" cups made of "Bam busware" can release substances into hot food that are harmful to health |
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Note: All publications are in Germany language |
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No more small plastic bottles in lodging establishments
On 9th October 2019, the California Governor approved Bill Nº 1162 on Lodging Establishments: small plastic bottles of personal care products.
The main takeaway is the requirement to prohibit the use of small plastic bottles that contain personal care products. This bill will become effective on 1st January 2023 with a transition period until 1 January 2024.
Regulatory proposals notified to WTO
See below a table summarising recent notifications to the World Trade Organization (non-exhaustive):
|
Notification number / Link |
Country |
Title |
|
Thailand |
Draft Thai Industrial Standard for Nipples for Feeding Bottles (TIS 969 – 25XX(20XX)) (12 page(s), in Thai)
The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) has proposed to replace the standard TIS 969 – 2533 (1990) for Nipples for Feeding Bottles by the mandatory standard TIS 969-25XX(20XX). This standard specifies requirements for Nipples for Feeding Bottles for child use including scopes; definitions; materials; requirements; packaging; marking and labeling; sampling and criteria for conformity and testing |
Below you will find a monthly summary of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RASFF”) and in the US (Source “CPSC”).
Europe
RASFF (European Commission Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed - Alerts reported by EU national authorities).
The following 13 alerts regarding Food Contact Materials were reported from 21st November to 20th December of 2019.
|
Product |
Substance / Hazard |
|
|
Polyamide kitchenware |
Migration of primary aromatic amines (63.6 µg/kg - ppb) |
|
|
Kitchen plastic glasses |
Migration of formaldehyde |
|
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Plastic cups |
Migration of melamine (4.33; 4.79; 4.9 mg/l) |
|
|
Melamine children's tableware |
Migration of formaldehyde (18.6 mg/kg - ppm) |
|
|
Plastic plates |
Migration of melamine (5.5 mg/kg - ppm) |
|
|
Plastic mug |
Migration of formaldehyde (19 mg/kg - ppm) and of melamine (9.4 mg/kg - ppm) |
|
|
Baking traysc |
Migration of iron (262.9 mg/kg - ppm) and too high level of overall migration (170 mg/kg - ppm) |
|
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Aluminium bottles with plastic caps |
Too high level of overall migration (1.542 mg/kg - ppm) |
|
|
Nylon kitchen utensils |
Unfit for use as food contact material (risk of melting) |
|
|
Melamine fruit plate set |
Migration of melamine (up to 4.85 mg/kg - ppm) |
|
|
BBQ grill |
Migration of nickel (1.3; 1.9 mg/l) |
|
|
Steel cake moulds |
Inner coating oxidized (rust) |
|
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Steel strainers |
Unfit for use as food contact material (steel AISI 201) |
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From 21st November to 20th December 2019, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) has published the following recalls: 0 recall regarding Food Contact Materials.
