Before consumption, food comes into contact with many materials and articles during production, storage, preparation and serving. These materials and articles are called Food Contact Materials (FCMs).
To ensure FCMs do not have a negative effect on consumers’ health, and affect food quality, a series of legal controls and requirements must be observed.
Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 establishes a harmonised legal framework for the EU, as well as the general principles of safety and inertia for FCMs. In addition to the general legislation, there are a series of EU-specific measures that tackle plastic material treatment, including recycled plastics.
In the case of plastic materials that come into contact with food, Regulation 10/2011 sets the rules and specifications that must be complied with, as well as the restrictions on the use of these substances. These include migration limits that specify the maximum quantity of substances that can migrate into food.
