Turkey’s New Food-Contact Regulations Align Closer with EU Requirements
Turkey published two new regulations on food-contact materials on April 5, 2018, in the Official Gazette. The first regulation is a general framework regulation applicable to all food-contact materials, and the second regulation specifically addresses active and intelligent food-contact materials. Both regulations aim to more closely align the country’s food-contact requirements with those in place in the European Union (EU).
Material Contacting with Turkish Food Codex Food, No. 30382, (in Turkish) replaces Turkey’s previous food-contact regulation No. 28157 from 2011, and updates it to more closely track the EU’s Framework Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, as amended. The 2018 regulation contains 26 Articles versus 17 in the 2011 regulation. In particular, the new regulation incorporates additional definitions in Article 4, expands Article 7 with respect to the specific measures that may be adopted for groups of materials and articles, and adds several new Articles regarding how to apply for the use of new substances, the scientific data needed to support an application, and the evaluation of new applications and issuance of scientific opinions by the Scientific Commission.
The compliance deadline for most provisions of this regulation is December 31, 2018, with a December 31, 2019 deadline for the remainder.
The second new regulation, Active and Intelligent Substances to Contact Food, No. 30382, (in Turkish), includes additional requirements for the use of active and intelligent substances in food-contact materials. Specifically, it includes a positive list for components of active and intelligent materials and articles, and sets out certain exemptions from the positive list requirement (for example, in cases where there is a functional barrier and the substance is not carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to reproduction or in nanoform). Additionally, the regulation establishes criteria for adding new substances to the positive list, as well as labeling and declaration of compliance requirements. Transitional compliance deadlines for this regulation range from December 31, 2018 through January 1, 2020.