On March 15, 2017, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) announced a new draft version of the 22nd ordinance amending the Consumer Goods Ordinance (“mineral oil ordinance”). In the beginning of March, the ordinance was sent for written consultations to the federal states of Germany and to industry associations.
The ordinance provides a specific migration limit (SML) of 0.5 mg/kg food for mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) and recommends the introduction of functional barriers to reduce the migration of chemicals from recycled paper and board used in contact with food. However, in comparison to previous versions of this draft ordinance, the SML for mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) of 2 mg/kg food was removed in the most recent draft.
During the past years, scientific publications and testing campaigns have regularly shown that MOSH and MOAH levels in food frequently exceeded 2 and 0.5 mg/kg food, respectively.
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BMEL (March 15, 2017). “Entwurf der Zweiundzwanzigsten Verordnung zur Änderung der Bedarfsgegenständeverordnung.” (in German)
BMEL (March 7, 2017). “Entwurf des Bundesministeriums für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft. Zweiundzwanzigste Verordnung zur Änderung der Bedarfsgegenständeverordnung.” (pdf; in German)
BMEL (March 15, 2017). “Lebensmittelbedarfsgegenstände.” (in German)
Chemical Watch (April 5, 2017). “Germany to limit MOAH in food contact materials.“
