Food contact plastic materials regulation legal and technical rules

Materials and objects (articles such as packaging, kitchen utensils, etc.) intended to come into contact with food are subject to framework regulations defined by regulation 1935/2004, which establishes as a basic rule the principle of inertness with respect to foodstuffs. Articles must not transfer constituents to foodstuffs in quantities likely to present a risk to the consumer, or to modify the organoleptic characteristics or composition of the food.

Plastic articles are subject to a European implementing regulation that defines specific rules for this material, regulation 10/2011 of January 14, 2011, which replaces directive 2002/72 of August 6, 2002.

Regulation 10/2011 lays down the rules for the composition of plastics, essentially :

• a list of substances expressly authorized for the manufacture of plastics (positive list or Union list);

• specific migration limits for some of these substances, i.e. setting a maximum quantity of a substance that can migrate into the food;

• an overall migration limit, i.e. the maximum authorized quantity of substances released by the entire article into foodstuffs.

In simple terms, a plastic is a polymer to which additives are added to produce the final plastic material. These substances are added to achieve a physical or chemical effect (color, softness/firmness, slipperiness inside the bottle, etc.).

Among additives, colorants, which provide pigments for plastics, and solvents, which are used to produce polymers, are not regulated by Regulation 10/2011, which refers back to national legislation. This is an important exception to the positive list principle.

Other additives have a dual use: packaging manufacturers are entitled to use them, under the plastics regulation, for their effects on plastics. But food companies also have the right, under other European regulations, to use them for food preparation or flavoring. Regulation 10/2011 defines the rules for combining these different regulations.

Adhesives, printing inks and coatings are not covered by the plastics regulation as such, since they are not plastics. On the other hand, the plastics regulation does take into account the substances used in their manufacture, since these can migrate through the label and packaging materials to food.

As you can see, plastic regulations are not straightforward.

This article attempts to explain this as clearly as possible, without claiming to present the entire state of the legal-technical art.

Nor is this article exhaustive. It does not cover...