The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is reported to be leading an expert committee to review the need for national regulations on plastic as a food contact material (FCM). An article published by regulatory news provider Chemical Watch on July 5, 2019 informed that the committee has been tasked with publishing a report within the next three months that addresses the following identified issues:
- the Food Packaging and Labeling Regulations from 2018 not being comprehensive and not addressing all concerns regarding plastic in FCMs, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and multi-layer materials
- the focus of existing regulations being on plastic bags and waste, but less on food packaging
- the lack of testing protocols to determine chemical migration from food packaging into food
A ministry official is reported to have commented that not enough standards exist addressing specific chemicals, including allowable migration limits for substances such as antimony or bis 2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP; CAS 117-81-7). The latest food packaging regulations in India were set to come into force on July 2, 2019 (FPF reported). Many states in India have previously imposed bans on various single use plastic items, including on some food contact articles (FPF reported).
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Ajoy K. Das (July 5, 2019). “India’s food safety body to head expert committee on plastics in FCMs.”
