Belgium strengthens the management of varnishes and coatings in contact with food

Belgium has issued the latest royal decree to strengthen the safety management of varnishes and coatings in contact with food, effective January 1, 2017.New Act sets limits on the amount of varnish (except on metal surfaces) that come into contact with food - no more than 10mg/sq m to the surface of food. If it is not possible to determine the amount of migration on a particular surface, the common limit reference standard is 60 mg/kg.new act also sets out standards and analytical methods for the production of varnishes and coatings for materials in contact with food.A draft report released by the European Parliament's environment committee criticised the EU's lack of co-ordinated legislation on food contact materials (FCM), noting that so far the EU has taken specific measures against only four FCM types: plastics (including recycled plastics), ceramics, recycled fibres, active and intelligent materials.although some EU member states already have legislation to manage other FCM, these regulations do not currently cover the relevant text of varnishes in contact with food.Belgium's new regulations, which refer mainly to EU regulations on plastic materials and products, specify the composition of plastic FCM, and list other ranges of varnishes and coatings that are allowed to come into contact with food: approved by EU member states or the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa);in the light of EU regulations on plastic FCM, new Belgian regulations require that coatings and varnish products associated with them on the market must provide a declaration of compliance that includes experimental data or theoretical calculations of their specific migration levels.new legislation took two years to enact with the aim of ensuring a high level of consumer safety.
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