Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2008

Wednesday 5 March 2008

The proposed Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2008 will implement Commission Directive 2007/19/EC in English Law by providing further routine amendments to the lists of substances that can be used in the manufacture of food contact plastics.

These amendments include the addition of new substances to the lists and changes to the conditions of use of other substances already in the lists. These changes include some that affect the use of some plasticisers with fatty foods and confirms that gaskets in metal lids are subject to the rules on food contact plastics.

Other provisions affect the use of azodicarbonamide, functional barriers and declarations of compliance.

The regulations will also revoke the earlier 2006 (No.2) Regulations and re-enact their provisions in their entirety. The regulations will also simplify the rules by, wherever possible, making direct references in our regulations to the annexes in the European Directive (2002/72/EC, as amended). It is these annexes that contain the detailed lists of substances that may be used in the manufacture of food contact plastics and any restrictions laid down for their use.