Two significant pieces of EU food contact materials legislation take effect before the end of August 2026. The bisphenol restriction under Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 applies from 20 July 2026 and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s Article 5 chemical requirements follow on 12 August 2026. Both carry distinct compliance obligations and require action from producers, importers or traders before their respective deadlines.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Bisphenol Restriction: Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 from July 2026
Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 prohibits the use of bisphenol A (BPA) (CAS No: 80-05-7) and related bisphenol compounds (such as BPS, BPF, BPB) in materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. The restriction applies from 20 July 2026 for single-use FCMs, with further phases in 2027 and 2028. BPA had already been subject to a reduced specific migration limit of 0,05 mg/kg under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 since 2018, but the 2024 regulation became stricter, requiring that materials contain no bisphenols at all, following EFSA’s 2023 reassessment which classified BPA as carcinogenic and harmful to human health.
Analytical Requirements
Compliance is demonstrated through chemical analysis of the material itself, with a required detection limit of less than 1 ppb (0,001 mg/kg of material) for bisphenol content. Where direct material analysis is not feasible, for example in certain metallic containers, specific migration testing may be used as an alternative.
What Producers and Traders Need to Do
- Collect documentation from all raw material suppliers confirming the absence of bisphenol substances.
- Ensure that no bisphenols are used in the production process itself.
- Perform chemical analysis of the final material to confirm the absence of bisphenols at or below the 1 ppb detection threshold, particularly in the initial compliance period.
- Issue or update a statement of compliance with Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 and communicate it to the next stage in the supply chain.
PPWR: First Obligations from August 2026
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, entered into force on 11 February 2025 and begins to apply from 12 August 2026. While many of its provisions will be phased in over several years, Article 5, which sets out chemical requirements for all packaging, applies from day one.
Chemical Requirements Under Article 5
From August 2026, the sum of heavy metals, i.e. cadmium, lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium in any packaging material must not exceed 100 mg/kg of material (Article 5, point 4)
Furthermore, the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS family) in food contact packaging is prohibited, with specific limits of less than 25 ppb for individual PFAS substances, less than 250 ppb for the sum of individual PFAS, and less than 50 ppm total fluorine (TF) in the material.
PFAS Substances Under PPWR
In terms of testing, current market practice typically targets specific PFAS substances and a single targeted analysis can cover approximately 50 – 100 individual PFAS compounds. The most common approach in use today is the content of total fluorine (TF) analysis in the material as a screening method. It is worth noting that in case the TF content analysis fails, the legislation is moving toward total organic fluorine (TOF) as the next step, which offers a more accurate picture of organofluorine content (mainly PFAS substances) by excluding inorganic fluorine sources. The PPWR is also expected to be accompanied by further guidance on the grouping of PFAS substances and a clearer definition of which specific compounds will need to be verified by analysis.
Declaration of Compliance Under Article 39
The PPWR introduces a Declaration of Compliance (DoC) obligation under Article 39, covering compliance with Articles 5 through 12. Since only Article 5 is in force from August 2026, a full DoC cannot yet be issued. In practice, compliance with Article 5 is often documented and incorporated into existing food contact DoCs (e.g. according to EC 10/2011) as an interim measure until the full Article 39 framework becomes operational, especially for materials, which do not fullfill any of the requirements of the other articles at the moment (e.g. multimaterial-multilayer laminates).
For materials fulfilling recyclability and recycled content minimum targets (such as r-PET trays), a DoC according to PPWR can be issued and shared in the supply chain.
What Producers and Traders Need to Do
- Collect updated documentation from raw material suppliers confirming the absence of prohibited PFAS substances.
- Verify compliance with the heavy metal limits and PFAS restrictions through chemical analysis of packaging materials.
- Prepare a statement of compliance with Article 5 of the PPWR and consider integrating it into existing Declaration of Compliance documentation until the full Article 39 DoC framework is in place. For materials already fulfilling articles 6 and 7 such as r-PET rigid plastics, a full Declaration according to PPWR is meaningful to be prepared and issued.
Conclusion
Two regulatory deadlines, in July and August 2026, are arriving within weeks of each other, each with distinct compliance requirements. The bisphenol restriction demands analytical verification at sub-ppb levels for all food contact materials in scope. The PPWR’s Article 5 requires PFAS and heavy metal compliance across all packaging. For producers and traders, the common thread is the same: compliance must be backed by analytical evidence, not documentation alone.
That analytical evidence is exactly what Pack-Lab provides: our chemical analysis services cover bisphenol testing for Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 as well as PFAS and heavy-metals verification for PPWR Article 5.
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