China’s NHFPC Publishes Approvals for 23 Food Packaging Materials
China's National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) announced online on June 8, 2016, that 23 food packaging materials had passed the safety evaluation review by the NHFPC expert panel and have received final clearance. Specifically, the final clearances are for:
- 12 new food packaging additives
- 5 expanded use clearances for food packaging additives
- 6 new food-contact resins
These approvals will ultimately be incorporated into the relevant Food Safety Standards. The additive approvals will be added to China's GB 9685 Standard for Uses of Additives in Food Containers and Packaging Materials, and the new plastic resin approvals will be incorporated into the new Standard on Food-Contact Use Plastic Resins. These will remain administrative approvals until the Standards are next amended, which generally occurs every five years. However, these administrative listings are final approvals that may be relied upon to lawfully market the referenced food-contact materials in China.
The June 8 announcement follows NHFPC's April 29, 2016, release of its first batch of final approvals in 2016, which included:
- 15 new food packaging additives
- 2 expanded use clearances for food packaging additives
- 6 new food-contact resins
After a draft clearance is published, it typically takes approximately six months for NHPFC to publish the corresponding final approval.