In November 2022, the European Commission (EC) announced the results of the EU Enforcement Action Plan on plastic food contact materials (FCMs) containing bamboo powder (FPF reported). The aim of this enforcement campaign was to end the illegal import, trade, and advertising of plastic articles using bamboo or other plant-based additives as fillers. Most of the known plant-based additives have not been assessed for their safety and are not authorized under Regulation (EU) 10/2011. Instead, they are used to label products as ‘natural’ or ‘eco-friendly’, which has been recognized as misleading consumers and providing false claims. Further, bamboo and other ground plant-based materials in plastic materials are known to accelerate the degradation of certain polymers they are mixed with. Therefore, starting substances and additives within the plastic polymers may migrate at higher rates into the foods (FPF reported).
As a result of the Action Plan, 21 European countries notified 748 cases of plastic FCMs containing ground bamboo. 644 of these were products from the EU market, whereas the remaining 104 cases were rejected at EU borders. All these products were required to be withdrawn from the market. In the future, the EC will support EU countries in ongoing surveillance and controls to prevent any more of these products from entering the market.
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EC (November 2022). “Bamboo-zling. EU Enforcement Action on plastic Food Contact Materials (FCM) made of bamboo ‘powder’.”
