On September 25, 2016 the Belgian Federal Public Service (FPS) Public Health and Safety of the Food Chain and Environment released the Royal Decree on varnishes and coatings intended to come into contact with foodstuffs, which will enter into force on January 1, 2017.
According to the decree, the followings substances can be used intentionally to make coatings intended for food contact: those substances listed on the Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastics, those approved by a Member State, those approved by the European Food Safety Authority, those that do not migrate to a detectable amount in the food, and those that are not classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMR), and are not in nanoform. The global migration limit is set to 10 mg per dm2. The migration of individual substances should comply with specific migration limits or, if unavailable, with a generic specific migration limit of 60 mg/kg. Marketed coatings/varnishes are requested to be accompanied by a Compliance Statement. The rules for the control of compliance with migration limits, including food simulants and migration testing conditions, are specified in the Annex.
Read more
Clelia Oziel (November 14, 2016). “Belgium passes food contact varnishes and coatings law.“ Chemical Watch
Reference
FPS Public Health, Safety of the Food Chain and Environment (September 25, 2016). “Arrêté royal concernant les vernis et revêtements destinés à entrer en contact avec les denrées alimentaires.” (pdf, in French)
