Food Contact materials the new EU regulation

Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/79 of January 18, 2018, amending Regulation (EU) no. 10/2011 concerning plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs (OJ L 14/31 January 19, 2018).

The legislative update (which represents the ninth since the establishment of Regulation 10/2011) updates the Union list of substances authorized to be used for the production of plastic materials and objects intended to come into contact with the food products (Annex I of the regulation).

The update includes the various scientific opinions issued in recent months by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the safety of new substances that can be used in this context, as well as on new parameters of use, that must be respected for previously authorized substances.

Plastic materials and objects compliant with Regulation (EU) no. 10/2011, in the version applicable before the entry into force of the new regulation, may be placed on the market until February 8, 2019 and remain on the market until stocks are exhausted.

The new substances included, usable in specific contexts, turned out to be:

• 1. (FCM 1061) 2,4,4'-tri-fluorobenzophenone
• 2. (FCM 1063) 2,3,3,4,4,5,5-hepta-fluoro-1-pentene
• 3. (FCM 1064) tungsten oxide
• 4. (FCM 1065) mixture of methyl-branched and linear C14-C18 alkanamides, derived from fatty acids.
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