Legislation food contact materials

Is the food contact materials legislation not entirely clear to you?

There are all kinds of requirements for the packaging you produce or use for filling your product.

Food packaging must comply with the Framework Regulation EU-1935-2004. For example, article 3 states that substances must not migrate beyond the limit, food spoilage must not be disguised and composition, smell and taste must not be affected.

Food packaging materials must be produced under so-called “good manufacturing practices”, EU-2023-2006. This ensures that each time they are produced in the same and correct way, the quality is reproducible.

Plastic packaging materials are also subject to EU-10-2011, plastics in contact with food. This legislation has have had already 20 amendments, the latest three being EU-2024-3190 about the ban of bisphenol A in adhesives, rubbers, ion-exchange resins, plastics, printing inks, silicones and varnishes and coatings, EU-2025-351, the so called quality amendment, about for example additional purity requirements, and the 20th amendment EU-2025-2240 which were published on 19-12-2024, 21-02-2025 and 05-11-2025.

For recycled plastics, legislation EU-282-2008 had been in force since 2008. Since 15-09-2022, this legislation has been replaced by EU-2022-1616.

Through my participation in various food contact materials working groups, master classes and conferences, in The Netherlands and abroad, I am well informed about the legislation and upcoming changes. You can also contact me for general topics that are common among consumers, such as bisphenol A, PFAS, plasticizers, hormone-disrupting substances, carcinogenic, reprotoxic or mutagenic substances, styrene, bio-based plastics, et cetera.