In an article published on October 26, 2017 by regulatory news provider Chemical Watch, reporter Aya Kawanishi informed that 20 industry associations expressed concerns over Japan’s proposal to introduce a positive list system for substances used in food contact materials (FCMs). The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has recently issued guidelines for food contact materials (FCMs) to shift from a negative list to a positive list regulatory system (FPF reported). The industry groups raised the following issues: i) Downstream users lack understanding of raw material composition, ii) communication between FCM manufacturers and raw material producers is limited, iii) properties of materials change through their use across the supply chain which makes compliance requirements complex, and iv) lack of clarity regarding whether the regulation criteria will be based on the substances used or on migration levels.

The MHLW intends to prepare an amendment proposal to submit to the Food Sanitation Act at the National Diet’s ordinary session in January 2018, Kawanishi reported.

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Aya Kawanishi (October 26, 2017). “Industry raises concerns over Japan’s food packaging proposal.Chemical Watch

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