Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
|
|
Commission e-News, 11 February 2019
Today, the Commission has launched an Online Public Consultation on the evaluation of the Food Contact Materials (FCM) legislation. Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 provides a harmonised legal EU framework for FCM in order to achieve a high level of protection of human health and to ensure the effective functioning of the European Union market.
The Regulation sets basic requirements that FCM must not release their constituents into food at levels harmful to human health and contains rules on labelling and traceability as well as powers to adopt more specific measures for certain types of materials. The evaluation will seek the view of stakeholders, public authorities, the general public as to whether the current EU legislation for FCMs is fit for purpose and delivers as expected. The evaluation will provide a basis on which the Commission can consider which, if any, possible steps need to be taken in the future concerning the regulation of FCM in the EU.
The Public Consultation is part of the evaluation exercise and aims at gathering the views and evidence from a wide range of stakeholders on the functioning of the FCM legislation, including the impact on citizens and on the requirements that the legislation sets for businesses and public authorities.
To access the questionnaire, go to: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2017-5809429/public-consultation_en. The following is taken from the introduction to the on-line questionnaire:
Feedback period:
11 February 2019 - 6 May 2019
Target audience:
This consultation targets all stakeholders group with an interest in the food contact material legislation. This includes:
Why we are consulting
Food contact materials (FCMs) are all materials that come into contact with food including packaging kitchenware and tableware and the materials used in professional food manufacturing, preparation, storage and distribution. It may also include articles which may foreseeably come into contact with food. The legislation on food contact material provides a harmonised legal EU framework for FCMs and sets out the general principles of safety of FCMs, as well as rules on labelling, compliance documentation and on traceability. The legislation on food contact materials provides the basis for securing a high level of protection of human health and the interests of consumers and to ensure the effective functioning of the internal market as regards the placing on the market of FCMs.
This consultation is a part of the European Commission evaluation of the EU legislation on food contact materials. The evaluation aims to assess to what extent the current EU legislative framework for food contact materials is fit for purpose and delivers as expected and to identify any unexpected impacts or issues as a consequence of the current legislation. In addition, the evaluation will show whether the objectives and tools of the FCM legislation are still relevant and coherent.
This consultation aims at gathering the views and evidence from a wide range of stakeholders on the functioning of the FCM legislation, on the requirements that the legislation sets for businesses and public authorities. The feedback received from the consultation will be taken into account in the evaluation. Once the evaluation of the FCM legislation is completed, a synopsis report of all consultation activities will be published.
For the related news item concerning a 'Roadmap' for reviewing the legislation on food contact materials, see: 28 November 2017 CONTACT MATERIALS - Commission consultation: Evaluation and fitness check roadmap: Evaluation of Food Contact Materials (FCM)
