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EU proposes stricter limits for chemicals used in packaging

Food and drink businesses may be required to lower their use of hazardous chemicals used in packaging, under proposed changes to the EU legislation on food contact materials.

The legislation, Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, relates to food safety and governs the safety principles of all materials that come into contact with food, such as packaging containers, kitchen equipment, cutlery, and dishes. It stipulates that food contact materials do not release their constituents into food at harmful levels or unacceptably change food composition.

Handling food contact materials differently

The proposed changes to European Union (EU) law on food contact materials relate to quality control rules that ensure food safety. In 2020, the EU revised the food safety-related legislation designed to improve food safety and public health.

The revision set out new requirements for food and drink businesses to lower their use of hazardous chemicals through sustainable packaging solutions. The change reflected the EU’s calls for sustainable packaging by promoting environmentally friendly, reusable, and recyclable materials.

The EU held a public consultation between 5 October 2022 and 11 January 2023 to collect and analyse stakeholder feedback. The consultation aimed to ensure food safety and high public health protection, decrease the presence and use of hazardous chemicals, consider the latest science and technology developments, and advocate safe reusable and recyclable solutions to support innovation and help lower the sector’s environmental impact.

After gathering information, the EU made further improvements to the proposed revision to ensure the legislation aligned with its intended aims. These revisions include new standards for the purity of plastic materials recovered from waste and natural sources. They also require EU businesses to update testing methods for multi-layer materials and repeat testing to ensure reliable safety over time.

Exploring the safety of natural-origin mixtures

In November 2023, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) explored the principles and procedures relevant to the safety assessment of natural-origin mixtures in manufacturing. Recognising an increasing interest in using substances from renewable biological resources to manufacture materials and articles designed for food contact, EFSA sought to learn more about these natural-origin mixtures.

EFSA assessed natural compounds and complex mixtures in various sectors that deal with regulated chemicals, including food contact materials. The organisation stated that any migrating substances that present a potential risk to public health due to their chemical, physical, or toxicological properties that are already present in people's diets should not be re-evaluated. Instead, EFSA says that exposure to FCMs needs to be compared with their diet.

Sufficient revisions to protect public health

While welcoming the newly proposed changes to quality control rules in EU legislation, R3PACK consortium believes it needs to go further to protect the health of all European consumers, which presents several risks to them and the wider food sector.

“These new standards are a step in the right direction, yet more can and should be done to ensure the safety of European citizens,” said the R3PACK consortium, a collective of organisations from the food value chain.

Further focus on final articles

The R3PACK consortium states that the new revisions lack attention to final articles. By mainly looking at starting substances and recycling processes, they fail to recognise the complexity of non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) in final articles.

“These substances pose challenges to safety assessments due to their uncharacterised nature and unpredictability,” Francisco de Araújo Vasquez, project and policy officer at SAFE, told Ingredients Network. The organisation states that the situation worsens when multiple recycling centres accumulate chemicals.

SAFE recommends introducing sorting systems to distinguish FCMs from non-food-grade plastics and systematically monitoring NIAS in recycled food contact materials to overcome this issue. “Strengthening regulations to include comprehensive testing and monitoring of NIAS in final food contact materials, mainly recycled plastics, to ensure safety throughout the product lifecycle,” says de Araújo Vasquez.

Strengthening the risk assessment procedure

Minimal scrutiny in the risk assessment procedure poses further concerns. “The absence of provisions for independent scientific review hampers transparency and objectivity in the risk assessment process,” says de Araújo Vasquez.

The organisation calls for collaboration with independent research centres and data collection by non-industry entities to create unbiased assessments and bolster the rigour of risk evaluation. Implementing these is expected to improve transparency and objectivity in the risk assessment process.

Understanding the impact of endocrine disruptors

Inadequate assessment of endocrine disruptors is also present, SAFE adds. Although considered a potential health hazard, identifying endocrine disrupting effects from chemicals migrating into food does not occur under current regulations. Low-level exposures to potential endocrine disruptors also often go untested, SAFE says.

“Addressing these regulation gaps is crucial to establishing a new assessment process, ensuring food contact materials are free from endocrine disruptors,” says de Araújo Vasquez. SAFE recommends introducing new assessment procedures in food contact materials, including testing for low-level exposures and establishing thresholds based on toxicological data.

“By incorporating these recommendations, the revised food contact materials regulation can better fulfil its objectives of ensuring a high level of public health protection, reducing hazardous chemicals, and promoting innovation and sustainability in the food sector,” de Araújo Vasquez says.