South Korea, The European Union,the United States,ecycled Materials Used in Food Contact Materials Regulations

South Korea, the European Union, the United States, recycled materials Used in food contact materials regulations

What are the regulations for the use of recycled materials in food contact materials in Korea, EU and USA?

South Korea

In February 2022, South Korea established the Standard for Recycled Raw Materials Used in Food Containers, which stipulates that PET materials used in food are derived from bottle packaging materials and can be used as food packaging materials through physical recycling.

June 10, South Korea amended the "Food hygiene Law", provisions of the physical recovery of raw materials can be used for food contact materials, and developed the physical recovery of raw materials for appliances, containers, packaging certification procedures of the legal basis, recycling materials if meet the relevant standards and obtain MFDS certification, can be used for food container packaging.

On July 25, South Korea released a draft of partial amendments to the Rules for implementing the Food Hygiene Law, which will further clarify the certification process. During the certification, the applicant shall submit the relevant materials, recycling method, recycling process and other information related to the use of physical recycled raw materials.

The European Union

In the European Union, the regulations on food contact materials are very strict. Recycled plastics used for food contact in the EU are required to comply with the requirements of EU framework Regulation (EC)1935/2004. Monomers and additives used in food contact plastics are required to comply with EU Plastics Regulation (EU) 10/2011. In addition, the European Union has a special Regulation on recycled plastics (EU) 282/2008, which lists the provisions on recycled plastic materials in detail. In addition, the production of recycled plastics also needs to comply with the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice Regulation(EC) No 2023/2006.

The European Union Regulation on Recycled Plastics (EU) 282/2008 sets out the scope of recycled plastics, the licensing conditions for recycled processes, the requirements for supervision and inspection and the requirements for declaration of compliance.

On December 6, 2021, the European Union issued the draft "EU on Food Exposure to Recycled plastic materials and Products", which will abolish Regulation (EU) 282/2008. The draft stipulates in detail the product scope, assessment requirements, application and approval process of food exposure to recycled plastic materials and products.

In the European Union, an application to EFSA is required if the intended use of recycled plastic in food packaging materials is intended. Unlike in the United States, the registration of recycled plastics is a mandatory requirement in the European Union. EFSA will evaluate the recovery process, particularly for possible sources of contamination and the effectiveness of the overall recovery process for contaminant removal. Only recycling processes officially licensed by the EU can be used to produce food-contact recycled plastics.

In the supply chain where food is exposed to recycled plastics, the upstream must also issue a declaration of Compliance (DoC) for the downstream, which contains a document number indicating that the production process has been officially authorised by the EU, as well as other requirements mentioned in Regulation (EU) 282/2008.

The United States

In principle, recycled plastics are permitted for Food packaging in the US under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Compliance Policy Guide and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

In the United States, food exposure to recycled plastics is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In 2021, the US FDA revised the industry guidance of "Points of Note for Recycled Plastics Used in Food Packaging: Chemical Concerns". Through this guidance, the recycling process, exposure to pollutants, analysis of pollutants and other related content are specified in detail.

The regulatory requirements for food exposure to recycled plastics are the same as those for primary food exposure plastics, namely that recycled plastics also need to meet the requirements under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and Chapter 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (21CFR).

The code of federal regulations (21CFR) allows, in principle, the use of recycled plastics in food packaging, and a corresponding guideline document on the quality assessment of recycled plastics has been published. Recycled plastics enterprises may voluntarily submit an application to the FDA for evaluation of their recycling process.

U.S. regulations do not require companies to certify recycled plastic processes. However, in order to make their products more competitive in the market, many companies still choose to submit to the FDA for the certification of recycled plastics.

Therefore, currently in Korea, the European Union, the United States, there are legal basis for the use of recycled materials for food contact materials, if enterprises want to produce and use recycled plastics, they have to obtain approval in accordance with the requirements of the regulations. That is to say, there is legal living space for recycled plastics in the United States, the European Union and South Korea, but China has not established regulations and food safety standards for recycled materials to be reused for food contact purposes. According to the "Notice on Issues Related to the Use of Recycled bottle-grade Polyester chips in the production of food Packaging" (Food Supervision Letter [2010] No. 695), At present, it is known that the recycled bottle-grade polyester chips produced by Beijing Intron Renewable Resources Co., LTD., which were evaluated by the former Ministry of Health, can be used in the production of food packaging materials. Other domestic have hainan sheng petrochemical co., LTD., hua fei veolia polymer science and technology (zhejiang) co., LTD and its subsidiary, zhejiang li fu technology co., LTD., zhenjiang Xavier's environmental protection fiber co., LTD., tianjin surplus foreign exchange earning intelligence technology co., LTD., the dragon of renewable resources development co., LTD., the regeneration of several companies such as EFSA has passed the certification of the FDA or the European Union certification.