On August 19, 2022, news provider ChemLinked published an article by Lennie Tao broadly comparing the policies and management of food contact materials (FCMs) in China and the European Union. The article includes a table with all the policies in the two regions organized such that similar policies are in line, making it easier to directly compare applicable legislation between the EU and China. For example, the EU’s Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food versus China’s GB 4806.1 National Food Safety Standard General Safety Requirements for Food Contact Materials and Articles.
Tao also outlines some of the differences between regulatory practices. This includes from cultural considerations, like China classifying foods in the same way as the EU with some added “typical Chinese foods, such as dumplings” to greater differences in FCM management including that China does not currently have a policy for recycled plastics but has more policies on specific materials.
China recently published revised standards for paper and board FCMs as well as a new standard for bamboo and wood FCMs (FPF reported).
Reference
Lennie Tao (August 19, 2022). “A comparison of FCM supervision between China and the European Union.” ChemLinked
