Proposal for a Regulation on Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food

Abstract:

Review of COM 689 European commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.

SUMMARY

In this proposal, the European Commission recommends a Regulation to cover novel packaging materials, arising from advances in science and technology, designed to maintain or improve the condition of food and prolong its shelf life. The EASAC reviewers advise that the proposal addresses some important issues and that this is an active area of technology development. One concern is that some of the potential applications (for example, flavour-absorbing active packaging) may be contentious and the proposal, generally, would be improved by a more detailed discussion of safety issues and a more balanced consideration of the innovation issues for consumer safety and industry benefit.

The proposal would also be strengthened by better exemplification of the scientific potential in the explanatory memorandum and by a more thorough consideration of specific issues for environmental impact, testing procedures and facilities, and labelling.