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europe - Legal regulations for plastics in contact with food

In Europe, Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 regulates the requirements for objects in contact with food. For plastics it is concretised by the Regulation VO (EU) No. 10/2011. These regulations have created a uniform legal basis throughout Europe for objects, especially plastics, in contact with foodstuffs.

The requirements of these regulations go far beyond those of the old Directive 2002/72/EC. Whereas previously all plastics whose monomers, additives and other starting materials complied with the directive were considered to be food-compatible, their harmlessness must now also be proven and traceably confirmed by so-called migration tests.

Migration tests are carried out to determine which components and quantities contaminate the food. Certain limits must not be exceeded. The limit values are weight-dependent (mg/kg) and vary for the different food categories (meat products, dairy products, fats and oils, meat, etc.).

Under these new rules, the safety of a single plastic material in contact with a certain quantity and category of food must be demonstrated by testing. The conditions of use can be limited, for example to certain temperature ranges. At the same time, appropriate traceability of the material down to the raw material is required.
The predicing explanations already make clear that the European regulations are very extensive restrictions, compliance with which must be ensured above all by the person who places the product in contact with food on the market. On request, components can be manufactured from suitably qualified material, otherwise compliance with the limit values must be demonstrated individually on the component, taking into account the application.

Read more about the American requirements for plastics in contact with food here!

Click here to read more about suitable plastics in food contact!