Consumer health
Food contact materials and articles
The safety and quality of materials and articles for food contact is an essential part of consumer health protection. Harmful substances potentially released by appliances, utensils, work surfaces or packaging can migrate into food, creating health risks. The EDQM’s work in this area aims to minimise these risks by establishing stringent quality and safety standards for food contact materials, protecting consumers from contamination and ensuring the integrity of food products.
The European Committee for Food Contact Materials and Articles (CD-P-MCA) leads this effort by developing standards and guidance for safe practice. It prepares recommendations, technical guides, test protocols and common analytical procedures to support regulators, manufacturers, safety evaluators and control laboratories. This work is guided by Council of Europe Resolution CM/Res(2020)9 on the safety and quality of materials and articles for contact with food, which provides a framework for all technical guidance issued by the EDQM in this field.
Work programme
The revision of the second version of the 2007 technical policy statement “Cork stoppers and other cork materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs” continued in 2024, with finalisation scheduled for 2025. All Council of Europe policy statements concerning materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs can be consulted here: https://go.edqm.eu/FCMpolicies.
The CD-P-MCA is also preparing another technical guide to address enamelled articles. Following a survey report entitled “Metal release from enamelware”, based on data collected in official controls in Europe between 2015 and 2018, NCA experts identified the need to optimise the testing conditions. Experimental release testing will be pursued in 2025.
The committee started revising the policy statement “Coatings intended to come into contact with foodstuffs”, last updated in 2009. A working group was set up to advance this work in 2024 and will pursue its activities in 2025.
Publications
Metals and alloys
The second edition of the technical guide “Metals and alloys used in food contact materials and articles” was published in 2024 following an exhaustive review of the previous edition. Experts from competent authorities, official control laboratories and industry stakeholders took part in this important initiative
Documentation supporting compliance
A dedicated CD-P-MCA working group, in co-operation with regulators, control laboratories and other stakeholders, drafted and approved a new technical guide in 2024, presenting best practices on how to prepare the documentation and declarations of compliance related to food contact materials and articles. Approved by the CD-P-MCA, this new user-friendly guide is designed to support business operators producing food contact materials and articles and covers the safety and compliance requirements applicable throughout the supply chain, as laid out in Council of Europe Resolution CM/Res(2020)9 on the safety and quality of materials and articles for contact with food. It should be read in conjunction with material-specific guides that supplement this resolution, in addition to relevant European Union and national regulations. A supporting checklist is included for download and free use.
Protected every step of the way – The work of the EDQM on consumer health protection
EDQM On Air is a public health podcast brought to you by the EDQM. From food contact materials and cosmetics to tattoo inks and special guidelines to protect children, the EDQM strives to protect consumers from toxic and unsafe substances. Listen to find out how.
Communication with partners and stakeholders
Through their engagement in the CD-P-MCA’s work, NCAs contribute to the elaboration of guidelines, provide expertise and carry out experimental testing. In collaboration with the EDQM, they contribute to protecting consumers from contaminants in food that originate from contact materials or articles.
The EDQM also collaborates with the European Commission, its Joint Research Centre and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to ensure consistency and complementarity of Council of Europe recommendations and technical guidelines with relevant regulations and guidelines in the EU.
The EDQM includes business operators and associations in discussions on how to ensure the safety and quality of materials intended for food contact.
Joint EDQM-AESAN symposium
Together with the Spanish Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (AESAN), the EDQM organised a joint symposium entitled “Recent developments in food contact materials and articles”, held in Majadahonda (Spain) on 18 and 19 September 2024. This event provided updates on European regulations and recommendations that apply to food packaging, appliances and utensils on the market, as well as national perspectives on best practices related to product safety and testing for compliance. Participants also discussed how national and European institutions work together and the complementarity of regulations and recommendations and reviewed the relevant publications in the area and the role of the EDQM in providing the secretariat for the CD-P-MCA intergovernmental committee.
