EU FOOD CONTACT PLASTICS REGULATORY UPDATE
The European Commission has published two amendments to EU food contact plastics rules. Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/2412 adds four substances to the Union list under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011. Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/2376 amends Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastics, updating compliance declarations, PET input verification, import documentation and registration requirements.
Both amendments were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on October 29, 2026, and will enter into force on November 18, 2026. Separate transition arrangements apply to the revised declarations of compliance. Raw material suppliers, recyclers, converters and EU importers should identify the provisions relevant to their formulations, production stages and supply chain documentation.
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Four Substances Added to the Union List
Regulation (EU) 2026/2412 amends Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 by adding four substance entries. Each authorization is subject to the corresponding use conditions and restrictions; inclusion in the Union list does not permit unrestricted use in food contact plastics.
| FCM No. | Substance | Authorized use and restrictions | Specific migration limit (mg/kg food) | Notes on verification of compliance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1086 | Chopped carbon fibres, from carbonised polyacrylonitrile | Only to be used at up to 40% w/w for polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymer. The fibres shall be manufactured from polyacrylonitrile, have a minimum carbon content of 95% w/w, and have no dimension at the nanoscale (diameter >100 nm). | — | — |
| 1087 | Nano precipitated calcium carbonate, uncoated | Authorized as an additive. Not to be used in the manufacture of materials and articles intended for contact with infant formula. | — | (32) There is a risk that the overall migration limit is exceeded in contact with acidic foods. |
| 1088 | Poly(2-hydroxypropanoic acid), n-octyl/n-decyl esters | Only to be used as an additive at up to 15% w/w in materials and articles made from polylactic acid (PLA) that do not contain starch (FCM No. 564) or other additives with a function similar to starch that could increase migration. The materials and articles must be intended for contact at up to 40°C for up to 10 days with water included in food category 01.01, or with foods included in categories 04.01 (fruit, fresh or chilled), 04.04 (vegetables, fresh or chilled) and 08.01 (vinegar), as specified in Table 2 of Annex III. | 0.05 | (33) There is a risk that the SML is exceeded when food simulants other than food simulant B are used. |
| 1090 | Mixture of 1,9-nonanediamine (NMDA, CAS No. 646-24-2) and 2-methyl-1,8-octanediamine (MODA, CAS No. 148528-05-6) | Only to be used as a co-monomer with terephthalic acid to manufacture polyamide materials and articles. Not to be used in the manufacture of materials and articles intended for contact with infant formula or human milk. Migration of the fraction with a molecular weight below 1,000 Da, consisting of NMDA/MODA-related species, shall not exceed 5 mg/kg food. | 0.05, expressed as the sum of NMDA and MODA migration | — |
"—" indicates that no individual SML or additional verification note is specified in the new entry. SML means specific migration limit; w/w means by weight.
Recycled Plastics Declarations Extend Across the Supply Chain
Regulation (EU) 2026/2376 clarifies documentation responsibilities under Regulation (EU) 2022/1616. Subject to the specified exceptions, materials and articles within its scope must be accompanied by the appropriate declaration of compliance (DoC) at marketing stages other than retail. These declarations communicate compliance information and processing and use restrictions to downstream operators.
The amendment revises Declaration A for recyclers and Declaration B for converters, and introduces Declarations P and C for additional supply chain stages.
| Declaration | Applicable stage | Main information |
|---|---|---|
| P | Batches of partially pre-processed plastic input and plastic input placed on the Union market, covering the relevant pre-processing and supply stages. | Operator, product and batch identification; polymer type; commodity code used for release for free circulation; input origin, collection method and proportions; pre-processing stage; and quality assurance system certification. |
| C | Recycled plastic materials and articles whose plastic composition will not be modified during subsequent processing. The issuer must have received Declaration A or B from its supplier, or have internally issued and archived in its documentation system a record at least equivalent to a signed Declaration A or B. | Total plastic weight; recycled content and origin of relevant components; overall recycled proportion; compliance information; instructions for use; and the cumulative amount of substances added at subsequent stages. |
When issuing a DoC, the operator must already hold the supporting compliance documentation, including relevant upstream declarations and quality records. This documentation must be made available to the competent authority within 10 working days of a request.
For recyclers, batches of plastic input accepted for decontamination must be accompanied by Declaration P. Where a recycler directly obtains plastic waste or partially pre-processed plastic input and carries out further pre-processing to produce plastic input, it must archive an equivalent record when recycling of that input batch begins. Declaration P or the equivalent record must be retained for at least five years.
Transition Arrangements for Declarations
The following arrangements apply to products that comply with Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 as applicable before the amendment enters into force.
| Milestone | Transition arrangement |
|---|---|
| Until February 18, 2027 | Products requiring Declaration A or B may be placed on the market with declarations meeting the previous requirements. |
| Until May 18, 2027 | Products requiring the new Declaration C or P may be placed on the market without those declarations. |
| Until stocks are exhausted | Recycled plastic materials and articles manufactured from products lawfully placed on the market under these transition arrangements may continue to be placed on the market. |
PET Input Verification and Import Documentation
Impurity Limits for Mechanical Recycling of Post-Consumer PET
The amendment specifies input requirements for the mechanical recycling of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a suitable recycling technology listed in Annex I.
The input must consist of washed and dried post-consumer PET waste. Materials and articles previously used in contact with non-food materials or substances must account for no more than 5% of the input.
Impurities must be verified using Annex A to ISO 12418-2:2012, or a method demonstrated to have equivalent or better performance, and must meet the following limits.
| Impurity | Maximum ratio | Mass used in the calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Label fragments and other visible impurities | m₁/m₀ ≤ 500 ppm | m₁: mass of label fragments and other visible impurities separated according to the standard. |
| Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) | m₂/m₀ ≤ 200 ppm | m₂: mass of black, carbonized PVC particles separated after heating according to the standard. |
| Polyolefins, including adhesives | m₃/m₀ ≤ 500 ppm | m₃: mass of yellowish particles separated after heating according to the standard. |
In each calculation, m₀ is the initial test sample mass. Parts per million (ppm) expresses milligrams of impurity per kilogram of input material (mg/kg).
Declarations Required for Specified PET Imports
For specified PET goods, EU importers must submit the declaration corresponding to the product's processing stage when requesting release for free circulation. The new Table 6 in Annex I maps designated products and Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes to declaration types. Examples include:
| Product examples | CN codes | Declaration |
|---|---|---|
| PET resin recovered from waste, suitable or intended for food contact | ex 3907 61 00; ex 3907 69 00 | P, A or B, depending on the processing stage |
| PET waste intended for food contact | ex 3915 90 20 | P |
| Specified PET bottles, sheets, packaging and other articles containing recycled content suitable for food contact | Including ex 3923 30 10 and ex 3923 30 90 | C |
For example, an imported recycled PET bottle intended for food contact requires Declaration C. Food imported already packed in PET packaging is excluded from the requirement under Article 5a(7)(a). This exclusion concerns that specific import documentation requirement and does not establish a general exemption from recycled plastics compliance obligations.
Importers should assess the intended use, product description and CN code together, and align the declaration with the customs information.
Electronic Registration and Installation Status Management
The existing public Union register provides information on recycling technologies, recyclers, recycling processes, recycling schemes and decontamination installations. The amendment provides for a non-public electronic registration system through which operators and competent authorities submit, maintain and verify information.
Decontamination installations are assigned the following statuses: newly registered, being established, active, inactive, suspended, audit pending and decommissioned. Recyclers should track the following registration and maintenance milestones.
| Management item | Requirement or status consequence |
|---|---|
| Installation registration | Register through the electronic system at least 30 working days before production starts. |
| Production start date | Report the date in the system no later than the day production starts. |
| Compliance monitoring summary sheet | Submit the compliance monitoring summary sheet (CMSS) within 30 days after production starts. |
| Periodic confirmation | From the date the installation becomes active, verify and confirm the registration information every six months. |
| Audit not completed within one year | An installation still designated "being established" one year after production starts automatically moves to "audit pending." |
| Missing submissions or confirmations | The status automatically changes to "inactive" if the required CMSS, information and documents have not been submitted within three months after the status became "newly registered," or if the recycler fails to confirm the accuracy of the information within 30 working days after the six-month verification period ends. Six months after becoming inactive on either of these grounds, the installation automatically becomes "decommissioned." |
"Inactive" and "suspended" are distinct statuses. The automatic changes described above lead to "inactive"; "suspended" applies where a competent authority suspends use of an installation because of non-compliance.
For novel recycling technologies, the status categories are newly established, verified, assessment requested by the developer, assessment requested by the Commission, development abandoned, not considered suitable and suitable. Developers must register a novel technology at least six months before the first decontamination installation operating on that basis starts operating.
What Businesses Should Review Before Implementation
The two amendments address different compliance questions: whether a substance is authorized for a particular formulation and use, and whether recycled plastics meet the applicable input, documentation and registration requirements. A product using both a newly authorized substance and recycled plastic must be assessed against both sets of rules.
Regulatory and quality teams should map substance restrictions to actual formulations and food-contact conditions, identify the declaration applicable at each supply chain stage, and check that supporting records are available.
Recyclers and importers should also review PET input verification, customs documentation and installation status against production plans, quality management procedures and procurement processes. The declaration transition periods provide time to update documents and obtain the necessary information from upstream suppliers.
How REACH24H Can Help
REACH24H supports EU food contact materials compliance, including:
Regulatory compliance analysis.
DoC preparation and review.
Prepare Your EU FCM Compliance Documents for the New Rules
Discuss the requirements relevant to your materials and the documents that need updating with REACH24H's regulatory compliance and DoC specialists.
