According to the State Health Planning Commission, the latest national mandatory standards for food contact materials will be fully implemented. The new standard system covers all aspects of raw materials, production management and product testing, and will have a greater impact on related industries. Food contact materials, as an important part of food safety, are directly related to the immediate interests of consumers and are attracting increasing attention. This upgrade will make our food contact materials better regulated by international standards, and will provide more powerful protection for consumers' health and safety.

Health risks of food contact materials have attracted much attention.

In recent years, food safety and health hazards caused by food contact materials have aroused frequent media heated discussions.In 2016, the EU passed the RASFF (food and feed quick notification system) 103 unqualified notifies on China's food contact materials exported to Europe, involving plastics, stainless steel, ceramics, bamboo and wood utensils, non stick pots and other commodities, and 86 of them were refused entry or withdrawal from the market. Our country also found unqualified food contact products in the spot checks. For example, in 2016, 11 batches of imported food contact products were detected in Ningbo port, and the goods were worth more than US $400 thousand. For example, a number of carcinogenic teratogens of acrylonitrile up to 20.2 mg / kg were detected in plastic parts of Korean import juicer, far exceeding the national standard limit.

The mandatory new national standard is about to be fully implemented.

The new GB system includes 2 basic food safety national standards, GB4806.1-2016 applicable to all products, general safety requirements for food contact materials and products, and GB9685-2016 "standards for the use of additives for food contact materials and products", which are applicable to 10 GB4806 series product standards of different materials. They are applicable to 50 standards of GB31603, "general hygienic standard for the production of food contact materials and products" and the corresponding GB31604 series. In addition to the implementation of the individual standards in September 2016, the two basic standards will be implemented in October 2017, and all other standards will come into effect from March 2017 to April.

From the hygienic requirements, the new national standard has divided food contact products into 10 categories: nipples, enamels, ceramics, glass products, plastic resins, plastic products, paper, metal materials, coatings and coatings, rubber materials and so on.For example, a unified "total migration volume" index for different plastic products such as polypropylene and polyethylene is established. The limit of 60mg/kg is also in line with that of the European Union. Rubber products have increased the EU's requirement for more N- ammonium nitrate and other substances. The new standards of metal materials and products have integrated the requirements of hygienic standards for stainless steel products and aluminum products, and tightened restrictions on heavy metals such as lead and cadmium.

Judging from the testing index, the new standard requires testing according to the actual conditions of use, and refine the choice of food simulants, test time and temperature, so that the test can reflect the safety of products in actual use scientifically and reasonably, which requires enterprises to master the information of raw materials and conditions of their products. In addition, the physical and chemical indexes of some products are also severely tightened, such as the acidity of the rubber and the total migration of the oil analogue are 40 times stricter than the old ones.

The mandatory new national standard has far-reaching influence.

The mandatory standard upgrade for food contact products covers many categories and changes in content. This will not only have a profound impact on domestic producers, but will also have a greater impact on importers of related products. According to statistics, our country imports 100 thousand kinds of food products every year, with a value of more than 3 billion yuan, and only Ningbo Port imported more than 40 million yuan in 2016. With the rise of cross-border electricity providers, imports of Japanese and Korean juicer and European and American water bottles are much more popular. Enterprises need to pay close attention to the impact of the new standards.

The inspection and quarantine department reminds the relevant importing enterprises; on the one hand, we should pay close attention to the implementation of standards, strengthen communication with foreign suppliers, inform the other party of the new national standard's targets and requirements, and ensure the quality of products from the source. On the other hand, the new national standard test should be done ahead of time, and the testing should be carried out according to the product category and the most stringent practical conditions, so as to ensure that the report is qualified and effective, so as to avoid the consequences of return and destruction due to quality problems.

Source: China National times.