Plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food are permitted in the EU If they comply with the Directive 2002/72/EC.
This Directive provides for lists of authorized substances that can be used for manufacture of plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs. It also provides for restrictions on their use, rules on labeling and information to be given to consumers or food business operators for the correct use of these materials and articles.
On the basis of new information related to the risk assessment of monomers and 阿additives, the list of authorized substances in Directive 2002/72/EC was updated by Directive 2007/19/EC of 30 March 2007 and Directive 2008/39/EC of 6 March 2008.
Plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food and which do not comply with Directive 2002/72/EC, as amended by 2007/19/EC and 2008/39/EC, shall be prohibited from manufacture and importation into the EU from 7 March 2010.
In addition to an updated list of authorized substance, Directive 2007/19/EC further requires:
(1) plastic layers or plastic coatings, forming gaskets in lids that together are composed of two or more layers of different types of materials should comply with the restrictions and specifications laid down in 2002/72/EC as amended by Directive 2007/19/EC from 1 July 2008;
(2) plastic materials and articles which do not comply with the restrictions and
specifications for phthalates laid down in 2002/72/EC as amended by Directive
2007/19/EC shall be prohibited from 1 July 2008;
(3) The overall migration limit shall always be 60 mg/kg for plastic materials and articles intended to be brought into contact with food intended for infants and young children;
(4) The overall migration limit shall be 60 mg/kg for plastic materials and articles
intended to be brought into contact with food; or 10 mg/dm2 for container like articles or which can be filled with a capacity < 500ml or > 10 litres or other articles which cannot be filled.
While the existing list of additives, contained in Directive 2002/72/EC, shall be continuously updated when the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) finish safety evaluation of substances accepted in one or more EU countries by 31 December 2009, it is impossible to know if such evaluation can be completed on time. Directive 2008/39/EC thus provides for additives not included in the list may continue to be used subject to national law after 1 January 2010 for as long as they are included in a provisional list.