A new update of the regulation on food contact materials for the Dutch market has been notified to the European Commission by the Dutch authorities. The new regulation shall enter into force with effect from 1 April 2014 and contains rules and requirements for 12 material groups.
New Dutch Legislation on Food Contact Materials
The Dutch legislation on food contact materials, “The Commodities Act (Packaging and Consumer Articles) regulation”, is one of the most complete set of national legislation for food contact materials existing in the EU (1). The annexes of this regulation define specific requirements for certain food contact materials. In recent times the annexes have been amended many times, especially with respect to plastic materials. Therefore the Dutch authorities decided that the regulation with its Annexes should be re-enacted.
In Regulation (EU) No 10/2010 of 14 January 2011 the requirements are laid down forpackaging and consumer articles made of plastic. Chapter I of Annex A of the Dutch regulation on requirements for plastic materials has been amended to reflect requirements from Regulation (EU) No 10/2010. Furthermore two new chapters have been added to the regulation, a chapter on colorants and pigments, and a chapter on epoxy polymers.
Specific Requirements for Food Contact Materials
The draft of the new regulation has been notified to the European Commission. The new regulation shall enter into force with effect from 1 April 2014 and contains rules and requirements for the following 12 material groups:
I Plastics
II Paper and cardboard
III Rubber products
IV Metals
V Glass and glass ceramics
VI Ceramic materials and enamels
VII Textile products
VIII Foil made of regenerated cellulose
IX Wood and cork
