Date of Publishing: 24/02/2025 Affected Region: EU

The European Union (EU) has amended three key regulations on food contact materials (FCM), with the changes taking effect on March 16, 2025. The revisions impact good manufacturing practices (GMP), food contact plastics, and recycled plastics. Updates to Regulation (EC) No. 2023/2006 introduce new provisions for materials intended for reprocessing and enhance quality assurance requirements for recyclers.
Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 expands its scope to include adhesives, coatings, and printing inks, refines definitions (e.g., ‘additive’ and ‘reprocessing of plastic’), and establishes stricter purity criteria and migration limits. It also strengthens labeling and documentation requirements, mandating clearer instructions for safe use. Compliance testing methods and migration limit indicators have been updated as well. Additionally, Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 clarifies that Article 8(1) does not apply to contaminants in the decontamination process for food contact recycled plastics.