Overview
The European Commission (Commission) has opened yesterday the public consultation to assess the current EU legislative framework for food contact materials (FCM) with emphasis on the Framework Regulation 1935/2004. The consultation addresses whether the "tools of the FCM legislation are still relevant and coherent" and whether the potential risks originating from the intended uses of food contact materials require strengthening of the current scope and compliance toolbox of the FCM legislation.
This is part of the bigger fitness check of the most relevant chemicals legislation in the EU within the Better Regulation Agenda of the Commission. An evaluation has been demanded by the European Parliament's Motion for an EP Resolution on the Implementation of the Regulation on FCMs (Steptoe client alert) and analyzed in a Joint Research Center (JRC) baseline study of January 18, 2017 "Non-harmonised FCM in the EU: regulatory and market situation." The Commission has responded with a roadmap published in November 2017 outlining the Commission's plans. A stakeholder workshop already took place in Brussels on Monday September 24, 2018, and the second one is planned for September 2019.
Once the evaluation of the FCM legislation is completed, a report with all consultation activities will be published on the consultation page. While the Commission does not address the potential follow-up regulatory steps, we anticipate that legislative and/or regulatory proposals will be proposed by the Commission.
In the current public consultation, citizens and stakeholders can contribute by filling in the online questionnaire by May 6, 2019. Part I of the questionnaire is addressed to consumers while Part II assumes prior knowledge of the FCM legislation and work in the field. The questionnaire can be completed in all EU languages. Individual responses are protected under applicable EU data protection provisions.
The questionnaire for stakeholders concerns the scope and general requirements of Regulation 1935/2004. In particular, the questionnaire addresses questions on clarity of scope and definitions, touches upon the need for resources to comply with the general safety requirements set out in Article 3, a cornerstone of compliance for all materials and articles in food contact applications. Some questions relate to the effectiveness of labelling and traceability elements but also on whether resources including expertise in Member States are available to carry out inspection and controls in the FCM area. Specific emphasis is placed on Member States' rules in absence of EU specific measures and the functioning of the Mutual Recognition Principle. Whether rules on the Declaration of Compliance and Supporting Documentation are sufficient to ensure compliance in the supply chain is also being addressed. The functioning of the GMP Regulation and the efficiency of authorization processes (mainly under Regulation 10/2011 for plastic food contact materials) are also targeted, as well as potential contradictions, gaps, overlaps, inconsistencies or missing links within the EU FCM legislation. Specific questions on enforcement are addressed to public authorities. Questions not addressed in the questionnaire and further comments can be uploaded to the online tool.
We encourage active participation in the evaluation process as, in our view, the results of the consultation process will factor into the Commission’s decision process to bring forward legislative and/or regulatory proposals, as potentially justified.