China Rolls Out Multiple National Standards Restricting Hazardous Packaging

After the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and the Hygienic Standard for the Use of Additives in Food Containers and Packaging Materials (GB9685-2008) came into formal effect in June this year, the Plastic Laminated Film and Bags for Packaging, Dry Lamination and Extrusion Lamination (GB/T 10004-2008) and the Hygienic Standard for Melamine-Formaldehyde Molding Products for Food Containers and Packaging Materials (GB9690-2009) were implemented in August and September respectively; three standards, including the mandatory national standard General Technical Requirements for Plastic Disposable Tableware (GB18006.1-2009), will also be implemented successively over the next two years, and hazardous packaging and excessive packaging that endanger consumer health will be intercepted by the gate of standards.

So how can the above relevant policies and standards be better implemented and enforced, so as to protect consumer health and promote the healthy development of the industry? Industry experts were recently interviewed to interpret the relevant standards.

Food packaging standards raised; enterprises should improve technology and strengthen industry self-discipline

The Plastic Laminated Film and Bags for Packaging, Dry Lamination and Extrusion Lamination GB/T10004-2008, which took effect on August 1 this year, sets higher requirements for the inks used in food packaging printing, is basically in line with the relevant standards of developed countries, and offers greater protection for consumer health.

Environmental protection expert Dong Jinshi points out that under this regulation benzene, toluene and xylene must not be used in inks; xylene may only be used in coatings and adhesives, and its amount must meet the requirements of the product standard. Given the current technical level of China's printing industry, such requirements seem too strict for most enterprises. However, this standard has already passed public consultation and monitoring verification, and the fact that some enterprises can meet it shows that it is technically feasible; enterprises that cannot meet the requirements should improve their processes and technologies as soon as possible to prevent the loss of customers.

Meanwhile, from September 1 this year, production, sales and use that have not obtained a production license for food paper packaging, containers and similar products will be investigated and dealt with nationwide.

Experts explain that under the regulations, qualified products within their shelf life may continue to be sold even without a license, but products that have no license and no evidence proving their products qualified, or whose production date and shelf life are unclear, are all regarded as non-compliant products.

Because there is currently no unified national standard for paper cups, the quality of paper cups varies widely: some are produced from recycled waste paper of unknown origin, and some have carcinogenic fluorescent whitening agents artificially added in order to conceal the color of the paper. In particular, current industry standards set no requirements for inks, so enterprises use inferior inks with excessive benzene and heavy metals for printing in order to save money.

Experts disclose that the national standard Hygienic Standard for Disposable Paper Cups has been formulated and will be issued soon if approved. Noting that some paper cups have no shelf life, some have a shelf life of one year, some two years and some even three years, experts say there is a suspicion that enterprises label them arbitrarily, and hope that the relevant state departments will issue paper cup standards as soon as possible to regulate the healthy development of the industry.

Technical requirements for raw materials refined; standards for plastic tableware initially improved

The Hygienic Standard for Melamine-Formaldehyde Molding Products for Food Containers and Packaging Materials (GB9690-2009) took formal effect on September 1. Experts point out in their analysis that although the new standard imposes stricter provisions on the recommended use of the raw material melamine-formaldehyde resin, it still does not explain how to test harmful additives such as urea-formaldehyde resin. Law-breaking enterprises and non-compliant products may therefore continue to exist. At present, of nearly a thousand melamine-ware tableware manufacturers in China, only just over 50 have obtained a production license (QS). Experts therefore suggest that melamine-ware tableware enterprises that have not obtained a production license should first stop illegal production and business activities and promptly apply for a production license.

As for the General Technical Requirements for Plastic Disposable Tableware (GB18006.1-2009), which will take effect on December 1 this year, experts explain that the new standard specifies the definitions and terminology for plastic disposable tableware, classification, technical requirements, inspection methods, inspection rules and requirements for product marking, packaging, transport and storage; compared with the original standard, the new standard does not apply to disposable tableware made of non-thermoplastic materials such as disposable paper tableware, paper cups, wooden chopsticks and bamboo chopsticks; at the same time, the new standard revises the classification method, revises the technical requirements for raw materials, adds items such as off-odor to the sensory indicators, clarifies the scope of application and the number of samples to be tested in performance testing, and adds a requirement for the starch content of starch-based plastic disposable tableware.

Scope of the cling film standard expanded; restricting excessive packaging still requires clear 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 enterprises that the scope of the new standard is expanded from self-adhesive cling film made of polyethylene to self-adhesive cling film made of other plastic materials, including food plastic self-adhesive 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) as the main raw materials, and adds technical requirements for raw materials.

Experts disclose that even PE cling film varies greatly in quality. Some manufacturers, out of cost considerations, use industrial-grade or agricultural-grade PE film instead of food-grade PE film to produce cling film, or add various plasticizers. Experts suggest that the state should carry out a special inspection of PE cling film as soon as possible. According to related investigations, some foreign-funded enterprises in China still covertly use the plasticizer DEHA (chemical name: N,N-diethylhydroxylamine, molecular formula (C

NOH), and many supermarket chains still use PVC cling film to wrap greasy foods, which poses a major safety hazard.

The Requirements for Restricting Excessive Packaging of Commodities, Food and Cosmetics (GB23350-2009), which will take effect on April 1 next year, specifies the requirements for restricting excessive packaging of food and cosmetics and the method for calculating limit indicators. It contains mandatory provisions such as requirements for the void ratio and number of packaging layers for food and cosmetics packaging and that the total cost of all packaging other than the initial packaging must not exceed 20% of the commodity's selling price, and also includes other recommended provisions.

Because there is currently no mandatory standard for packaging materials, excessively packaged commodities have begun to make a big fuss over the material of packaging boxes. Experts suggest that packaging of different materials requires different processing techniques, and that the forthcoming Regulations on Restricting Excessive Packaging of Commodities should specify the types of packaging materials, preferably adopting a single material or materials that are easy to separate, and make packaging lightweight, not encouraging the choice of materials that are too heavy or too expensive, such as metal, wood, crystal and glass.

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