An article published on October 22, 2020, by regulatory news provider Chemical Watch, informed that “China’s National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) is surveying industry on the use of recycled materials in food contact materials (FCMs) with the aim of establishing a risk management method.”
According to Chemical Watch, Zhu Lei, CFSA deputy director, while presenting at Chemical Watch’s Key Regulatory Updates conference on October 15, 2020, said that “the use of recycled materials in FCMs is becoming a ‘very hot topic’ in China.” Stakeholders have been asking the agency about “whether it plans to draw up specific standards” for recycled FCMs. However, currently this is not yet known, because the issue is “complex.” At the moment, the agency is “conducting an industry survey and initiating a risk assessment method for the recycled FCMs.” Zhu Lei emphasized that “different recycling processes or recycled materials will have different by-products, intentionally added substances (IASs) or non-intentionally added substances (NIASs),” thus requiring an individual consideration of “the hazard or food safety risks.” She further mentioned that the agency will determine how to manage recycled FCMs only after completion of some “basic research” into their risk assessment, and highlighted “the complexity of establishing individual standards for the use of recycled materials.”
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Chemical Watch (October 22, 2020). “China preparing to develop risk management methods for recycled FCMs.”
