2026 Packaging Rule Update: Compliance Countdown for Food Labels, Express Packaging Reduction and Microplastics Governance

China’s packaging oversight is taking shape as a three-tier structure: overarching laws set the framework, specialised regulations fill in details, and mandatory national standards draw the baseline. Safety labelling, excessive packaging, green transition and microplastics governance are the four compliance watchwords for businesses.

1. Core laws and regulations by application scenario

General compliance baseline for packaging

The Product Quality Law obliges producers to ensure packaging meets national or industry standards for protecting personal and property safety.

The Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests stresses that packaging information must be truthful and complete, misleading claims are prohibited, and consumers have the right to know the real condition of goods.

The Advertising Law, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and the Trademark Law jointly govern the use of text, graphics and brand marks on packaging.

Food packaging special rules (currently the most tightly regulated area)

The Food Safety Law and its implementing regulations set clear safety requirements for food-contact materials.

The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Labeling (State Administration for Market Regulation Order No. 100) will take effect on March 16, 2027, and is now in a transition period. Key changes include:

Production dates and shelf-life expiry dates must appear in an independent area, printed in black on a white background;

Minimum font heights rise by tier: on packaging of 35cm² or more, date characters must be at least 3.0mm, while other mandatory content must be at least 1.8–2.5mm depending on area;

If a name indicates a flavour but the corresponding ingredient is absent, it must be prefixed with 'X flavour'; non-health foods may not claim functions or carry 'special supply' labels.

The supporting standard GB 7718-2025, General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods, is being advanced in parallel.

Express/logistics packaging (now fully mandatory)

The Interim Regulations on Express Delivery (revised in June 2025) add a dedicated chapter on express packaging, requiring resource conservation, avoidance of excessive packaging and compliance with mandatory national standards.

GB 45186-2024, Requirements for Limiting Excessive Express Packaging, takes effect on July 1, 2026, with hard targets:

Packaging layers: no more than 2 for non-fragile items, and no more than 3–4 for fragile or fresh items;

Tape width must not exceed 45mm, and total tape length is limited to 3–5 times the box perimeter;

Box dimensions must match the contents, with an upper body diagonal ratio of 1.5–2.5 times.

Penalties: postal authorities may fine violations such as failure to set up a recycling system between RMB 5,000 and RMB 20,000.

Environmental protection and green transition (a major breakthrough in 2026)

The Ecological Environment Code (effective in 2026) brings microplastics into the statutory scope of new pollutant governance for the first time and establishes:

Full life-cycle supervision from design and production to disposal and recycling;

Statutory extended producer responsibility;

A ban on ultra-thin or non-degradable single-use plastic packaging, with priority scenarios including express delivery and food delivery;

Violations face tiered penalties from RMB 10,000 to RMB 1 million, supported by daily continuing fines and credit sanctions.

The Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste underpins source reduction of plastic packaging and the development of recycling systems.

1. International benchmarking notes (for exporters)

The EU PPWR regulation ((EU) 2025/40) becomes fully applicable on August 12, 2026. It recognises both aerobic composting and anaerobic digestion degradation pathways, while mandatory recycled content ratios and reusable design become hard thresholds.

China’s export packaging must satisfy both the domestic Ecological Environment Code and target-market green barriers, such as microplastic release limits and carbon footprint accounting.

1. Key implementation reminders

✅ Current priorities: enforcement of the new national standard for express packaging has begun; food labels still follow the old standard but must be adapted early to the 2027 rules; plastic packaging companies should start microplastics compliance assessments.

⚠️ Transition-period risk: although the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Labeling take effect in 2027, market regulators have already launched awareness campaigns and self-inspection guidance. Early changes to fonts and date labelling methods are advisable.

——This article is based on information from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-379873.html