EC Proposing Regulations on Recycled Food Packaging

The European Commission has made proposals to regulate the use of recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. The UK Food Standards Agency has now published a consultation paper seeking views on the proposals.

The Commission’s proposal deals with mechanical processes for recycling food contact plastic for further use in contact with food.

Under the proposals, a system will be put in place that will allow a person or company to apply for an authorization to use a specified process to recycle food contact plastics for further use in contact with food. The application will be examined by the European Food Safety Authority before it makes a recommendation to the European Commission. The Commission will then decide whether to grant an authorization, with the intention of ensuring that the public is protected from unsafe contaminants in the recycled plastic.

At the moment there is no harmonized system in place across the EU for regulating the recycling of food contact plastics. Therefore, the Food Standards Agency proposes supporting the intention to make harmonized rules that will apply across the EU, subject to ensuring that they provide a good framework that allows businesses to operate within a system that provides effective protection for consumers.

Responses to the consultation are requested by June 3, 2004. The consultation documents can be accessed at www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/Consultations/ukwideconsults/recylingplasticproposal.