Foodlaw-Reading Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Food Law News - EU - 2022

Commission consultation, 5 October 2022

CONTACT MATERIALS – Commission consultation: Revision of EU rules on food contact materials

Consultation period - 5 October 2022 - 11 January 2023

Topic: Food safety

Target audience

The public consultation is open for contributions from all interested parties. The questionnaire includes two sets of questions:

• Citizen part: Questions for all citizens as consumers of food in food packaging and users of kitchenware and tableware such as plates, cutlery, cups and glasses, pans, storage containers, foil and film wrap, as well as appliances such as refrigerators and other articles that may foreseeably come into contact with food (e.g. napkins). No knowledge of food contact materials (FCMs) or the legislation is required.
• Stakeholder part: Questions for businesses, representatives of businesses, consumer organisations, scientific institutions and those involved in compliance and enforcement of FCMs. The target group includes manufacturers, importers, distributors and other businesses, including SMEs, consumer and industry associations, conformity assessment bodies, non-governmental organisations, as well as Member State authorities including control bodies. Some background and knowledge of the regulatory field of FCMs is needed.

Why we are consulting

On 20 May 2020, the European Commission published a Communication on a Farm to Fork Strategy, in which it commits to revise the EU legislation on food contact materials (FCMs). Specifically, it aims to improve food safety and public health (in particular in reducing the use of hazardous chemicals), support the use of innovative and sustainable packaging solutions using environmentally-friendly, re-usable and recyclable materials, and contribute to food waste reduction. These commitments are also reflected in other key strategies, including the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) towards a toxic-free environment.

This public consultation aims to collect views of citizens and stakeholders in order to support the impact assessment of the legislative revision of EU rules on FCMs. It further builds on the public consultation undertaken to support the recent evaluation of the current EU legislation and to address the shortcomings identified with the current legislation, namely:

• Lack of clarity regarding safety and functioning of the EU market in the absence of specific EU harmonised rules for FCMs other than mainly plastics;
• Weaknesses and limitations of legislation relying primarily on a list of authorised starting substances and lack of sufficient focus on the final FCM article;
• Lack of prioritisation of the most hazardous substances in all FCMs;
• Poor quality, availability and transparency of information in supply chain, hampering the ability to ensure compliance and undertake official controls;
• The current rules do not sufficiently support small and medium-sized businesses nor the development of safe and more sustainable alternatives.
• The inception impact assessment (IIA) or ‘roadmap’ for the revision exercise, which was published in December 2020, contains further information.

To participate in the consultation and to access the questionnaire, see the Commission page: Revision of EU rules on food contact materials.

For more details, see the original news item:

• 18 December 2020 CONTACT MATERIALS - Commission consultation: Revision of EU rules on food contact materials