Food contact materials in the EU: the rules, labels and papers for kitchenware, bottles and lunch boxes

Regulation 1935/2004 is the framework for all food contact materials. On top of it the EU has adopted measures for some materials and some substances. For the rest, each EU country may keep or adopt its own rules, as long as it keeps to the Treaty (Art. 6Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Commission’s legislation page states the same split.

The Commission’s legislation page also names measures on regenerated cellulose film (Directive 2007/42/EC), active and intelligent materials (Regulation (EC) No 450/2009), certain epoxy derivatives (Regulation (EC) No 1895/2005) and rubber teats and soothers (Directive 93/11/EEC). The page points to a 2017 study by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre that lists national measures as they stood then. Regulation 10/2011 applies to materials and articles and parts of them that consist exclusively of plastics, to multi-layer articles held together by adhesives, and to printed or coated plastic articles (Art. 2(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 2, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A steel bottle with a plastic lid is therefore a steel body under national rules, with the BPA ban reaching any coating on it, and a plastic lid under Regulation 10/2011.

The Commission’s note on the BPA Regulation says the declaration is issued “at all stages, including for intermediate food contact materials and for final food contact articles, except at the retail stage”. It adds that “business operators selling kitchenware to consumers do not need to provide the DoC to consumers but must have a DoC available in their compliance documentation, which may be requested by a Member State Competent Authority along with supporting documentation” (Note for Guidance, Q26). Regulation 10/2011 words the same split: a written declaration “shall be available” at “marketing stages other than at the retail stage” (Art. 15(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 15, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Regulation 1935/2004 sets one safety rule for every food contact material

The Regulation applies to materials and articles, active and intelligent ones included, that in their finished state are intended to be brought into contact with food, already are in contact with it and were intended for that, or “can reasonably be expected to be brought into contact with food or to transfer their constituents to food under normal or foreseeable conditions of use” (Art. 1(2)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 1, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). It does not apply to antiques, to edible coverings such as cheese rinds, or to fixed water supply equipment (Art. 1(3)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 1, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A drinking bottle and a lunch box are inside it.

“Placing on the market” is “the holding of materials and articles for the purpose of sale, including offering for sale or any other form of transfer, whether free of charge or not, and the sale, distribution and other forms of transfer themselves” (Art. 2(1)(b)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 2, paragraph 1, point (b)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). An offer counts as well as a sale. The “business operator” is the person responsible for ensuring the Regulation’s requirements are met within the business under their control (Art. 2(2)(d)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 2, paragraph 2, point (d)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The safety rule has three limbs. Under normal or foreseeable use the article must not transfer constituents to food in quantities that could endanger human health, bring about an unacceptable change in the composition of the food, or bring about a deterioration in its organoleptic characteristics (Art. 3(1)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 3, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The labelling, advertising and presentation of an article “shall not mislead the consumers” (Art. 3(2)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 3, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The Commission may adopt specific measures for the groups of materials listed in Annex I. The list has 17 groups: active and intelligent materials, adhesives, ceramics, cork, rubbers, glass, ion-exchange resins, metals and alloys, paper and board, plastics, printing inks, regenerated cellulose, silicones, textiles, varnishes and coatings, waxes and wood (Art. 5(1)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A group on that list is not for that reason covered by a measure. Without a specific measure a country may keep or adopt national provisions (Art. 6Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The label says “for food contact”, names a use, or shows the glass-and-fork symbol

Materials and articles that are not yet in contact with food when placed on the market “shall be accompanied by” the items below (Art. 15(1)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The information must be “conspicuous, clearly legible and indelible” (Art. 15(3)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Retail trade is prohibited if the “for food contact” or use indication and the instructions are not in a language easily understood by purchasers. A country may require one or more of its official languages, and several languages may appear together (Art. 15(4)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 15(5)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 5Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 15(6)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). At retail the information goes on the article or its packaging, on a label affixed to either, or on a notice next to the goods that buyers can see. The name and address may go on a notice only where, for technical reasons, they cannot be put on the article or a label at the manufacturing or marketing stage (Art. 15(7)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 7Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). At stages before retail the information goes on the accompanying documents, the labels or packaging, or the article itself (Art. 15(8)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 8Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The indications of use and the instructions are “confined to materials and articles” that meet the Article 3Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. criteria and the specific measures, or national provisions where none exists (Art. 15(9)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 9Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The symbol is therefore a statement of compliance. A product that does not comply may not carry it.

The symbol is a drinking glass beside a fork. The Commission’s working document on food contact symbols says Article 15 requires the article to be accompanied “by the words ‘for food contact’ or this symbol, unless when it is obvious that the article is for food contact”.

The declaration of compliance and its documents travel down the supply chain

The specific measures “shall require that materials and articles covered by those measures be accompanied by a written declaration stating that they comply with the rules applicable to them”. “Appropriate documentation shall be available to demonstrate such compliance” and goes to the competent authorities on demand (Art. 16(1)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 16, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Where no specific measure exists a country may set its own rules for declarations (Art. 16(2)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 16, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Each measure sets its own form.

The supporting documentation for plastics holds “the conditions and results of testing, calculations, including modelling, other analysis, and evidence on the safety or reasoning demonstrating compliance” (Art. 16(2)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 16, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). It is made available to the national competent authorities on request (Art. 16(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 16, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). For ceramics it holds the analysis results, the test conditions, and the name and address of the laboratory. The manufacturer or the importer into the Community supplies it (Directive 84/500/EEC, Art. 2a(2)).

The Commission’s note on the BPA Regulation says no specific format applies, so one document can carry the content of both declarations: “any information required by the DoC under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. does not need to be duplicated and can be incorporated into the same single document” (Note for Guidance, Q27). It adds that the BPA declaration lists all bisphenols and bisphenol derivatives used, “and not only those that are defined as hazardous” (Q18).

The traceability duty reaches every stage. Business operators need “systems and procedures to allow identification of the businesses from which and to which” materials and articles are supplied, and the information goes to the competent authorities on demand (Art. 17(2)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 17, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). An article placed on the market is identifiable by labelling, documents or information that make it traceable (Art. 17(3)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 17, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A declaration of compliance is not the CE declaration of conformity described in the declaration of conformity guide. Regulation 1935/2004 provides for no CE marking. The marks it names are the words, the named use and the symbol.

Plastics need listed substances, migration within limits and a declaration

Regulation (EU) No 10/2011Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. is a specific measure under Article 5 of Regulation 1935/2004. A plastic material or article may be placed on the market only if it meets six conditions (Art. 4Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.):

1. It meets the safety rule of Article 3 of Regulation 1935/2004 in intended and foreseeable use.
2. It meets the labelling rules of Article 15 of Regulation 1935/2004.
3. It meets the traceability rules of Article 17.
4. It is made under good manufacturing practice, Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006, good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (consolidated text of 16 March 2025)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office..
5. It meets the composition and declaration rules of Chapters II, III and IV.
6. It meets Regulation (EU) 2022/1616Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. if it falls within that Regulation, which is the recycled plastics Regulation.

Only listed substances. “Only the substances included in the Union list of authorised substances … set out in Annex I may be used in the manufacture of plastic materials and articles” (Art. 5(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The list holds monomers and other starting substances, additives except colorants, polymer production aids except solvents, and macromolecules from microbial fermentation (Art. 5(2)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 5, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Column 10 of Table 1 of Annex I holds the restrictions and specifications for each substance. Substances must be of “a high degree of purity” and the maker of the substance must know its composition (Art. 8(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 8, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Derogations from the Union list exist, and they are narrow. Colorants and solvents may be used “subject to national law” (Art. 6(2)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 6, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Polymer production aids not on the list may be used subject to national law (Art. 6(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Non-intentionally added substances and aids to polymerisation may be present (Art. 6(4)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 6, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Salts of listed acids, phenols and alcohols and mixtures of listed substances are authorised under conditions (Art. 6(3)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 6, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A colorant in a lunch box is thus a national-law question, whereas a filler or a plasticiser is a Union-list question.

Migration limits. The article must not transfer constituents to food above the specific migration limit of Annex I, stated in mg per kg of food (Art. 11(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 11, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The overall migration limit is 10 mg of total constituents per dm² of food contact surface, or 60 mg per kg of food simulant for articles meant for infants and young children (Art. 12Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 12Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Annex II lists general restrictions, among them limits for metals such as cadmium and chromium (Art. 10(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 10, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Migration is tested in food or food simulants under Annexes III and V. A result in food prevails over a result in a simulant, and a simulant result prevails over a screening result (Art. 18Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 18Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Commission’s legislation page gives the example that acetic acid 3% is the simulant for acidic foods.

Repeat use. A final article meant for repeated use must be designed so that migration does not increase over later use cycles, following the instructions for use in the documents or labelling (Art. 10(3)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 10, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Its maker or seller also provides instructions designed to slow deterioration, a description of the changes that show deterioration, and a warning that specific damage or foreseeable misuse would raise migration or make the article unfit for further food contact (Art. 14a(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 14a, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Instructions at the till. A plastic article not yet in contact with food, sold to consumers at retail and made with Union-list substances whose column 10 restrictions concern specific foods, contact time or temperature, or heating such as oven and microwave use, must come with instructions for the consumer that state those restrictions (Art. 14a(2)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 14a, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Multi-layer articles. Each plastic layer meets the Regulation. A layer that does not touch food and sits behind a functional barrier may use substances that are not on the Union list, if they do not migrate into food above the detection limit of 0.01 mg/kg and are not classified as mutagenic, carcinogenic or toxic to reproduction, nor in nanoform (Art. 13Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 13Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 11(4)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 11, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The final multi-layer article still meets the specific and overall migration limits (Art. 13(5)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 13, paragraph 5Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

What changed in 2025. Regulation (EU) 2025/351 rewrote parts of Regulation 10/2011: the purity rules, the reprocessing rules, the supporting documents, the instructions of Art. 14aCommission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 14aClick opens the article on EUR-Lex., the declaration content, and the Annexes on testing. It entered into force on 16 March 2025. Plastic articles that complied with the earlier text and were first placed on the market before 16 September 2026 may stay on the market until stocks run out (Reg. 2025/351, Art. 4(1)). For a substance or intermediate that was first placed on the market after 16 December 2025 and does not meet the amended text, the declaration must say so and say it can be used only for articles placed on the market before 16 September 2026 (Reg. 2025/351, Art. 4(2)).

BPA is banned in food contact materials, and the window to first place repeat-use articles made with it closed on 20 July 2026

Regulation (EU) 2024/3190Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. covers bisphenol A, other bisphenols and bisphenol derivatives in adhesives, rubbers, ion-exchange resins, plastics, printing inks, silicones and varnishes and coatings (Art. 1(2)Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)Article 1, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). It also limits BPA in a material made with another bisphenol (Art. 1(3)Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)Article 1, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The rules:

• “The use of BPA in the manufacture of food contact materials and articles … and the placing on the Union market of food contact materials and articles manufactured using BPA is prohibited” (Art. 3(1)Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)Article 3, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Annex II allows two uses, in epoxy coatings of self-supporting articles over 1,000 litres and in polysulfone filtration membranes, with BPA migration not detectable (Art. 3(2)Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)Article 3, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Annex II).
• A material made with another bisphenol or derivative may not contain residual BPA (Art. 4Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)Article 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
• Other bisphenols with a harmonised classification as carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic to reproduction (category 1A or 1B) or endocrine disrupting (category 1) are banned unless authorised or covered by the transitional route of Article 5(3)Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)Article 5, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. (Art. 5Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)Article 5Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Commission’s note lists bisphenol S, bisphenol AF, tetrabromobisphenol-A, 4,4’-isobutylethylidenediphenol and phenolphthalein among those already classified (Note for Guidance, Q17).
• Where verification uses a test, the detection limit is 1 μg/kg unless Annex II sets another, and a method the EU reference laboratory recommends is used (Art. 9(2)Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, bisphenol A and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)Article 9, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A laboratory test is not obligatory. The Commission’s note says “supporting documentation that accompanies the DoC can demonstrate that BPA has not been used”, for example a list of the monomers or starting substances used (Note for Guidance, Q20, Q21).

The transition depends on the type of article. Kitchenware, bottles and lunch boxes are repeat-use final food contact articles.

Regulation (EU) 2026/250 corrected the date in Article 12(3): the original text gave 20 January 2029 for both repeat-use groups, and the correction sets 20 July 2027 for articles first placed on the market by 20 July 2026. The Commission’s note describes the one-year period for repeat-use articles as a time “for the purpose of transfer and sale, including to consumers (e.g. kitchenware)”, after which they “may no longer be placed on the market”. A business that still owns such an article at that date may keep using it but may not resell, lease or hire it out. The note says first placing is by the maker “or importer”, and imported articles follow the same dates (Note for Guidance, Q34, Q37). The BPA limit of 0.05 mg/kg in food continues to apply to transition stock, and the declaration is needed throughout (Note for Guidance, Q28). Recycled food contact materials are outside the Regulation, because BPA reaches them only as incidental contamination (Note for Guidance, Q2).

Recycled plastic has its own authorisation and declaration chain

Regulation (EU) 2022/1616Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. sets the rules for plastic that comes from waste. It has applied since 10 October 2022, the 20th day after its publication on 20 September 2022, except Articles 6(3)(c)Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 6, paragraph 3, point (c)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. and 13(2)Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 13, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., which apply from 10 October 2024 (Art. 33Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 33Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A recycled plastic article is manufactured with a recycling technology listed in Annex I, or with a novel technology that passes the Regulation’s procedure (Art. 4(3)Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 4, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), and it also meets Chapters II, III and V of Regulation 10/2011 (Art. 4(2)Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 4, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Recycled plastic placed on the market comes with a declaration of compliance, and every container delivered to converters is labelled with the food contact symbol, the registry number of the decontamination installation, the batch number and the recycled content (Art. 5(2)Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 5, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 5(3)Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 5, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

A seller of finished goods meets this Regulation in two places. Restrictions that the technology or its authorisation puts on the use of the recycled plastic go into the label that Article 15 of Regulation 1935/2004 requires (Art. 5(6)Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 5, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A retailer of recycled plastic articles not yet in contact with food passes on the relevant instructions to users where the label does not already show them (Art. 8(3)Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, recycled plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 3 December 2025)Article 8, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Good manufacturing practice covers every stage, and detailed rules exist for inks and recycling

Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006, good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (consolidated text of 16 March 2025)The whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. applies to “all sectors and to all stages of manufacture, processing and distribution” of food contact materials, “up to but excluding the production of starting substances” (Art. 2Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006, good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (consolidated text of 16 March 2025)Article 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The business operator must run an effective documented quality assurance system, scaled to the size of the business so that it is not an excessive burden (Art. 5(1)Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006, good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (consolidated text of 16 March 2025)Article 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), select starting materials against set specifications (Art. 5(2)Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006, good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (consolidated text of 16 March 2025)Article 5, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), work to set instructions (Art. 5(3)Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006, good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (consolidated text of 16 March 2025)Article 5, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), keep a quality control system that corrects failures without delay (Art. 6Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006, good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (consolidated text of 16 March 2025)Article 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), and keep documentation on specifications, manufacturing formulae, processing, records and quality control results, available to the authorities on request (Art. 7Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006, good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (consolidated text of 16 March 2025)Article 7Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The Annex adds detailed rules for three processes: printing inks applied to the non-food-contact side, which must not transfer to the food-contact side by set-off or through the substrate; quality assurance at recycling facilities; and collection of plastic offcuts and scraps intended for reprocessing under Article 10(2) of Regulation 10/2011. The Commission’s legislation page sums the Regulation up as premises fit for purpose and staff aware of critical production stages, documented quality assurance and quality control systems, and suitable starting materials.

Ceramics have lead and cadmium limits and a declaration that goes to the shopper

Directive 84/500/EEC concerns the migration of lead and cadmium from ceramic articles that in the finished state are intended to contact food or are in contact with it for that purpose. A ceramic article is made from inorganic materials with a generally high clay or silicate content, shaped and fixed by firing, and it may be glazed, enamelled or decorated (Art. 1). An article meets the Directive if the lead and cadmium extracted in the test do not exceed these limits (Art. 2(4)):

The test uses a 4% acetic acid solution at 22 ± 2 °C for 24 ± 0.5 hours (Annex I). An article that exceeds a limit by no more than 50% can still be accepted if the average of at least three articles of the same shape, dimensions, decoration and glaze stays within the limits and none exceeds them by more than 50% (Art. 2(5)). Each country prohibits placing non-compliant ceramic articles on the market (Art. 5(1)). A ceramic article not yet in contact with food comes with a written declaration up to and including the retail stage (Art. 2a(1)). The latest consolidated text on the Publications Office is dated 20 May 2005, and the Commission’s legislation page still lists the Directive as the ceramics measure.

Plastic with bamboo or another plant filler is plastic, and no bamboo filler is authorised

Bamboo tableware is where the rules above most often catch a seller out. A set sold as “bamboo” may be melamine resin or another plastic with ground bamboo mixed in as a filler. The Commission publishes a note on this, “Use of bamboo in plastic FCMs”, of 23 June 2020. Its banner says it has not been adopted or endorsed by the Commission, that its views may not be regarded as an official position of the Commission, and that only the Court of Justice can interpret Union law authoritatively. It is the Expert Working Group’s summary of discussions. Its reasoning rests on the text of the Regulation:

• An article of a polymer with ground bamboo, bamboo flour or a similar constituent such as corn is a plastic. The definition of plastic covers a polymer “to which additives or other substances may have been added” that can serve as the main structural component (Art. 3Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., point (2)), and the note observes that neither the Regulation nor its guidelines set a maximum for additives.
• Only substances on the Union list may be used in plastic, additives included (Art. 5(1)Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 4Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, plastic materials and articles for food contact (consolidated text of 14 July 2026)Article 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The note’s conclusion: “Ground bamboo, bamboo flour, and many similar substances including corn are not listed in Annex I”, they “would require a specific authorisation such as exists for ground sunflower hulls”, and plastic articles with such additives “are not in compliance with the compositional requirements” when placed on the EU market.
• The note records that melamine and formaldehyde migrated from such articles on a number of occasions “considerably above” the limits of 2.5 mg/kg for melamine (Regulation 10/2011, Annex I, FCM No 239) and 15 mg/kg for formaldehyde (Annex I, FCM No 98, group restriction 15, expressed as formaldehyde), leading to withdrawal of the products, with over 50 rapid alert notifications on formaldehyde migration. For melamine kitchenware from China or Hong Kong, Regulation (EU) No 284/2011, Art. 3, adds a declaration and laboratory report for each consignment.
• Marketing such an article as “biodegradable”, “eco-friendly”, “organic”, “natural” or “100% bamboo” may be considered misleading by enforcement authorities, which would not comply with Art. 3(2)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 3, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex..
• Bioplastics such as PLA and PHA, which come from bio-sourced starting substances, are plastics too and fall under Regulation 10/2011 (note, footnote 3).

The note says its subject differs from items in which bamboo or wood is used “in or close to their natural form”. The current Union list shows what has happened since 2020. The consolidated text of Regulation 10/2011 of 14 July 2026 contains no entry for bamboo. It still lists ground sunflower seed hulls. The entry for untreated wood flour and fibres (FCM No 96), which the 2020 note discusses, was revoked from 1 August 2023 by Regulation (EU) 2023/1442. As amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2240, plastic articles made with untreated wood flour or fibres from a specific wood species may continue to be first placed on the market if an application was submitted before 1 August 2024 and the use stays within the application. After 31 January 2026 that holds only if the European Food Safety Authority had considered the application valid by that date. The articles may stay on the market until the application is withdrawn or the Commission decides on it (Art. 2(3) and 2(4) of Regulation 2023/1442).

When the filler is melamine resin, the kitchenware rules for China and Hong Kong below can apply too, as the note observes.

Melamine and polyamide kitchenware from China and Hong Kong needs a declaration, a laboratory report and prior notice

Regulation (EU) No 284/2011 sets conditions for polyamide and melamine plastic kitchenware originating in or consigned from China or Hong Kong (Art. 1). It applies to plastic kitchenware under CN code ex 3924 10 00 (Art. 2(a)). For each consignment the importer gives the competent authority a completed declaration, with a laboratory report that shows no primary aromatic amines in detectable quantity from polyamide kitchenware (detection limit 0.01 mg/kg of food or simulant, for their sum), and no more than 15 mg/kg of formaldehyde from melamine kitchenware (Art. 3(1), 3(3)). The importer or its representative notifies the authority at the first point of introduction at least two working days before arrival (Art. 4). The authority checks the documents of every consignment within two working days and runs identity and physical checks, with laboratory analysis, on 10% of consignments (Art. 6(1)). A failed analysis is reported through the rapid alert system for food and feed (Art. 6(2)). Release for free circulation depends on showing the completed declaration to customs (Art. 8). The Regulation has applied since 1 July 2011 (Art. 10), and the Commission’s legislation page lists it as current. The Regulation names the 2002 plastics Directive, which Regulation 10/2011 replaced (Art. 21 of Regulation 10/2011 reads references to it as references to that Regulation). For who the importer is on each route, importer of record in the EU sets it out.

Authorities check, withdraw and fine

Each EU country carries out official controls to enforce Regulation 1935/2004 and lays down sanctions that must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” (Art. 24(1)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 24, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 25Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 25Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A country that has detailed grounds to conclude an article endangers health, even though it meets the specific measures, may suspend or restrict it in its territory and informs the Commission and the other countries (Art. 18(1)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 18, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Commission’s note on bamboo describes the practical result: rapid alert notifications on food contact materials and withdrawal of the products from the market after migration tests. At the border, the China and Hong Kong rules put every consignment of melamine and polyamide kitchenware through a documentary check.

Other EU laws sit beside this one. REACH Annex XVII restricts PFHxA in paper and cardboard used as food contact materials from 10 October 2026, above 25 ppb for PFHxA and its salts and 1,000 ppb for related substances, measured in homogeneous material. From 12 August 2026 the packaging Regulation bans food-contact packaging that holds PFAS at or above 25 ppb for any single PFAS, 250 ppb for the sum of targeted PFAS, or 50 ppm for PFAS in total including polymeric ones (Art. 5(5)Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Packaging and Packaging Waste RegulationArticle 5, paragraph 5Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The PPWR guide covers packaging in full. The GPSR guide sets out where the General Product Safety Regulation steps back for products that other EU law already covers.

What the law leaves open

• What “clearly intended” means. Article 15(2)Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, food contact materials (consolidated text of 27 March 2021)Article 15, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. drops the words, use or symbol for articles that “because of their characteristics, are clearly intended to come into contact with food”. The Regulation gives three examples of specific indications, coffee machine, wine bottle and soup spoon, and no list of exempt articles. Meanwhile, mark any article a buyer could mistake for a decorative or non-food object.
• What the “retail stage” is. Regulation 1935/2004 and Regulation 10/2011 use the term without defining it. The Commission’s note on BPA treats “business operators selling kitchenware to consumers” as retail. Sales to a business, such as a cafe or a reseller, are then at a stage other than retail.
• The status of the bamboo note. It reflects the expert group’s discussion and says it is not an official Commission position. The Commission’s document library lists it as the bamboo document, and the library’s later entries on bamboo-melamine are meeting presentations, not a measure.
• National rules for glass, metal, wood, paper and silicone. They differ by country. The Commission’s legislation page gives no list and points to a 2017 study of national measures.
• Whether there is a separate EU registration for sellers of food contact goods. None of the measures described on this page requires one. Their duties are the label, the declaration, the documents and the traceability records.

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