EU Regulations: Foodstuffs

Within the European Union, the Food Contact Materials Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 (also known as framework regulation) sets the framework for the safety requirement applicable to all possible food contact materials and articles. Within the framework, several specific measures have been adopted at the EU level for plastic materials ((EU) No. 10/2011), active and intelligent materials ((EC) No. 450/2009), recycled plastic materials ((EC) No. 282/2008), ceramics (Directive 84/500/EEC), and regenerated cellulose film (Directive 2007/42/EC). For other FCMs such as silicones, rubbers, glass, coating, metals & alloys, paper & board, printing inks etc, specific measures have not been adopted at the EU level but Member States could adopt their own national regulations.

For plastic materials (widely used in FCMs such as food packaging) placed on the EU market, the Commission Regulation (EU) No.10/2011 (also known as the plastic regulation) has established specific requirements. Migration testing is often required to comply with the requirements established in (EU) No.10/2011 for overall migration limit (OML) and specific migration limit (SML). The OML is a measure of the maximum permitted amount of non-volatile substances that can migrate from the FCMs to foods/food simulants. The SML is a measure of the maximum allowable amount of a specific substance that can migrate into foods/food simulants.

The European Standards EN 1186 provides a guide to the selection of the appropriate conditions and test methods for the determination of overall migration into food simulants and test media from plastics which are intended to come into contact with foodstuffs.

The European Standards EN 13130 provide a guide to the test methods for the determination of specific migration of substances into food simulants and test media from plastics which are intended to come into contact with foodstuffs.

Jordi Labs have extensive experience in analytical testing for food contacting materials and provide excellent support in testing and consultation for customers global wide. We offer expertise in the most up to date analytical techniques (LCMS, GCMS, ICPMS, etc) as well as study design to meet your specific requirement.