China's Food Safety Standards Tighten: Hazardous and Excessive Packaging Face Stronger Barriers

China's Food Safety Law and the Hygienic Standard for the Use of Additives in Food Containers and Packaging Materials (GB9685-2008) took effect in June this year. They were followed by the Plastic Laminated Film and Bags for Packaging — Dry Lamination and Extrusion Lamination (GB/T 10004-2008) in August and the Hygienic Standard for Melamine-Formaldehyde Molding Products for Food Containers and Packaging Materials (GB9690-2009) in September. Three more standards, including the mandatory General Technical Requirements for Plastic Disposable Tableware (GB18006.1-2009), are scheduled to phase in over the next two years, creating a tougher compliance gate for hazardous and excessive packaging that threatens consumer health.

To understand how these policies and standards can be implemented effectively — and how they can protect consumers while supporting healthy industry growth — industry experts were recently interviewed to interpret the rules.

Food packaging rules raise the bar: technology upgrades and self-discipline become essential

Effective August 1 this year, GB/T 10004-2008 sets stricter requirements for inks used in food packaging printing. It moves China broadly in line with relevant standards in developed markets and offers stronger protection for consumer health.

Environmental protection expert Dong Jinshi notes that under the rule, benzene, toluene and xylene are banned from inks; xylene may be used only in coatings and adhesives, and its dosage must comply with product standards. For most companies, given the current technical level of China's printing sector, that requirement appears strict. Still, the standard has gone through public consultation and monitoring verification. Since some enterprises can already meet it, the target is technically achievable. Companies that cannot should upgrade their processes quickly to avoid losing customers.

At the same time, starting September 1 this year, authorities nationwide are investigating and penalizing the production, sale and use of food-contact paper packaging and containers without the required production license.

Experts explain that compliant products within their shelf life can remain on sale even without a license. However, products that lack a license and cannot be proven compliant — or that have unclear production dates or shelf lives — are treated as non-compliant.

With no unified national standard for paper cups, quality varies widely. Some cups are made from recycled waste paper of unknown origin. Others contain carcinogenic fluorescent whitening agents added to mask the paper's color. A key gap is that current industry standards do not regulate inks, so some manufacturers cut costs by using inferior inks with excessive benzene and heavy metals.

Experts say the national standard Hygienic Standard for Disposable Paper Cups has been drafted and will be issued soon if approved. Paper cup shelf lives are inconsistent — some carry no date, while others claim one, two or even three years — leading experts to suspect arbitrary labeling. They urge relevant state departments to release paper cup standards promptly to guide healthier industry development.

Raw material requirements refined; plastic tableware standards take shape

GB9690-2009, the Hygienic Standard for Melamine-Formaldehyde Molding Products for Food Containers and Packaging Materials, formally took effect on September 1. Experts note that the new standard imposes stricter rules on the recommended use of melamine-formaldehyde resin as a raw material, but it still does not specify how to test harmful additives such as urea-formaldehyde resin. Illegal producers and non-compliant products may therefore persist. Of nearly 1,000 melamine-ware tableware manufacturers in China, only just over 50 have obtained a production license (QS). Experts advise unlicensed melamine-ware producers to halt illegal production and business activities and apply for licenses as soon as possible.

For the General Technical Requirements for Plastic Disposable Tableware (GB18006.1-2009), effective December 1 this year, experts explain that the standard covers definitions and terminology, classification, technical requirements, inspection methods, inspection rules, and product marking, packaging, transport and storage. Compared with the earlier standard, it does not apply to disposable tableware made from non-thermoplastic materials, such as disposable paper tableware, paper cups, wooden chopsticks and bamboo chopsticks. It also revises the classification method and raw material technical requirements, adds sensory indicators including off-odor, clarifies the scope of application and sample volume for performance testing, and introduces a starch content requirement for starch-based plastic disposable tableware.

Cling film standard expands in scope; excessive packaging rules still need clearer material requirements

From December 1 this year, the Plastic Self-Adhesive Cling Film for Food (GB10457-2009) will replace the Polyethylene Self-Adhesive Cling Film (GB10457-1989), which has been in force for 20 years. A professor reminds businesses that the new standard expands coverage from polyethylene cling film to self-adhesive cling film made from other plastics. This includes food-contact plastic cling film produced by single-layer extrusion or multi-layer co-extrusion using resins such as polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), and it adds technical requirements for raw materials.

Experts disclose that even PE cling film varies sharply in quality. Some manufacturers, seeking cost savings, use industrial-grade or agricultural-grade PE film instead of food-grade PE film, or add various plasticizers. Experts recommend that the state launch a dedicated inspection campaign for PE cling film. Separate investigations show that some foreign-funded enterprises in China still covertly use the long-banned plasticizer DEHA (chemical name: N,N-diethylhydroxylamine), while many supermarket chains continue to wrap greasy foods in PVC cling film, creating significant safety risks.

The Requirements for Restricting Excessive Packaging of Commodities, Food and Cosmetics (GB23350-2009), effective April 1 next year, sets requirements for limiting excessive packaging of food and cosmetics and a method for calculating limit indicators. It includes mandatory provisions on packaging void ratio and packaging layers for food and cosmetics, as well as a rule that the total cost of all packaging other than the initial packaging must not exceed 20% of the product's selling price. It also includes other recommended provisions.

Because there is currently no mandatory standard for packaging materials, excessively packaged products are increasingly competing on the material of their boxes. Experts suggest that different materials require different processing methods. The forthcoming Regulations on Restricting Excessive Packaging of Commodities should specify packaging material categories, preferably requiring a single material or materials that are easy to separate. Packaging should be lightweight, and materials that are too heavy or too expensive — such as metal, wood, crystal and glass — should be discouraged.

— This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362223.html