This consultation started on 12th March 2010 and ends on 24th May 2010.
The Food Standards Agency Wales welcome your comments on the proposed Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations 2010 enclosed at Annexe B. Similar regulations and guidance are in the process of being drafted for Wales. They will not differ in content from that provided at Annexe B and Annexe E.
The proposed Regulations will provide for the enforcement of certain provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 450/2009 on active and intelligent materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods ('the AIM Regulation'), by designating the appropriate enforcement authorities in Wales and by attaching penalty provisions to the substantive requirements of the AIM Regulation. Comments are also requested on the Impact Assessment, enclosed at Annexe C. In the latter case, we would particularly welcome comments on any cost implications that are attributable to the proposed Regulations as they apply in Wales.
The AIM Regulation was published in the Official Journal (OJ) of the European Union (EU) on 30 May 2009 (Ref OJ, 30.05.2009, L135 pg 3-11), and came into force on 20th June 2009 and is directly applicable throughout the EU. Copies of the AIM Regulation can be freely accessed and downloaded from the following European Commission via the link below.
The Food Standards Agency in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will each consult on parallel but separate Regulations that will apply in their territories.
Comments are also requested on the draft guidance notes attached at Annexe E (see paragraph 11), which accompany the proposed Regulations; when submitting comments, please indicate whether you are commenting on the guidance notes or the draft Regulations.
The general principles on all food contact materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs are established in Regulation (EC) No. 1935/20041 ('the framework Regulation'). This lays down the framework for the regulation of all materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, including those classed as 'active' or 'intelligent'. The AIM Regulation is a specific measure within the meaning of Article 5(1)(b) of the framework Regulation. This establishes specific rules for active and intelligent materials and articles to be applied in addition to the general requirements established in the framework Regulation for their safe use.
Details of the AIM Regulation are: The AIM Regulation puts in place safety requirements that have to be met by businesses seeking to place on the market active and intelligent food packaging systems that give the foods they contain longer shelf life, enhanced qualities and that give businesses and consumers better information regarding the condition of the packaged food. The requirements prevent businesses misleading consumers about the product they are buying. They also lay down the procedure that manufacturers of such packaging systems must follow to have their product authorised at EU level andprovide for dates by which goods must comply with these regulations and when goods will be in breach of them.
The AIM Regulation also requires that only substances in the Community list of authorised substances may be used in components of active and intelligent materials and articles. In order for substances to be included in the Community list, specific conditions must be met and these have to satisfy the requirements of Article 3 and, where they apply, Article 4 of the framework Regulation for their intended use.
The Community list will be established in agreement with the Member States, with detail on the deadlines by which events pertaining to the list must be completed and the procedures for drawing up the list. The list will be drawn up in accordance with the applications made under Articles 9 of the framework Regulation and adopted by the Commission under the procedure set out in Articles 10 and 11 of that Regulation. Applications for the inclusion of substances in the EU list must be submitted within 18 months of the publication of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Guidelines for safety assessment of substances that is to say by 31 May 2011. The EFSA guidelines were issued on 30 November 2009 and are available on the Commission website via the link below.
The AIM Regulation puts in place a transitional period whereby active and intelligent materials and articles that are labelled in accordance with the framework Regulation and placed on the market prior to 19 December 2009 are permitted to be sold until stocks are exhausted. Furthermore, until the date of application of the EU list, released active substances are to be authorised and used in accordance with the relevant Community provisions applicable to food (i.e. legislation on food additives and enzymes), and must comply with the provisions of the framework Regulation and its implementing measures. A released active substance shall be considered as an ingredient within the meaning of Directive 2000/13/EC and subject to the provisions of that Directive.
More detailed information on the requirements of the AIM Regulation can be found in the Impact Assessment.
1 OJ Ref L338, 13.11.2004
The following documents relating to this consultation are available: Consutlation Summary and Annexes: The Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (Wales) Regulations 2010 Rheoliadau Deunyddiau ac Eitemau mewn Cysylltiad Bwyd (Cymru) 2010
seen at 11:05, 11 May in All consultations.