{"id":9765,"date":"2025-07-16T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/?p=9765"},"modified":"2025-07-15T13:09:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T10:09:39","slug":"japan-fcm-positive-list-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/japan-fcm-positive-list-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s Positive List for FCMs: Final Guidance &#038; 5 Year Transition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/japan-s-upcoming-food-contact-material-regulation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">previous article<\/a>, we outlined Japan\u2019s introduction of a Positive List (PL) system for food contact materials (FCMs) under the Food Sanitation Act. As the official enforcement date of June\u202f1,\u202f2025 passed, Japan\u2019s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) released crucial updates clarifying final procedures, exemptions, and a phased transition period.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/japan-fcm-positive-list-2025\/#Positive_List_Finalized_Substances_and_Recent_Additions\" >Positive List: Finalized Substances and Recent Additions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/japan-fcm-positive-list-2025\/#New_CAA_Q_A_and_Official_Manual\" >New CAA Q&amp;A and Official Manual<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/japan-fcm-positive-list-2025\/#Guidelines_for_Adding_or_Revising_Substances\" >Guidelines for Adding or Revising Substances<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/japan-fcm-positive-list-2025\/#Five-Year_Transition_Period\" >Five-Year Transition Period<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/japan-fcm-positive-list-2025\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Positive_List_Finalized_Substances_and_Recent_Additions\"><\/span><strong>Positive List: Finalized Substances and Recent Additions<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As covered previously, Japan\u2019s Positive List framework restricts FCMs to only approved base polymers and additives. The list currently includes <strong>21 base polymers<\/strong> and <strong>827 initial additives<\/strong>, with 13 new substances added through 2024 amendments (serial nos. 828\u2013840).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"New_CAA_Q_A_and_Official_Manual\"><\/span><strong>New CAA Q&amp;A and Official Manual<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To help businesses comply, the CAA published a detailed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caa.go.jp\/policies\/policy\/standards_evaluation\/appliance\/positive_list_new\/assets\/cms_standards101_250514_01.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>Q&amp;A document<\/strong><\/a> on May 9, 2025, providing <strong>clarifications<\/strong> on which products fall within the scope of the regulation, along with side-by-side <strong>comparisons of the draft and finalized provisions<\/strong>, and <strong>practical explanations<\/strong> for exemptions and migration limits<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9755 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Japanese-man-shopping-in-Supermarket-Japans-Positive-List-for-FCMs-Final-Guidance-and-5-Year-Transition-1024x768.png\" alt=\"Japanese man shopping in Supermarket - Japan\u2019s Positive List for FCMs 2025\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Japanese-man-shopping-in-Supermarket-Japans-Positive-List-for-FCMs-Final-Guidance-and-5-Year-Transition-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Japanese-man-shopping-in-Supermarket-Japans-Positive-List-for-FCMs-Final-Guidance-and-5-Year-Transition-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Japanese-man-shopping-in-Supermarket-Japans-Positive-List-for-FCMs-Final-Guidance-and-5-Year-Transition-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Japanese-man-shopping-in-Supermarket-Japans-Positive-List-for-FCMs-Final-Guidance-and-5-Year-Transition.png 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Guidelines_for_Adding_or_Revising_Substances\"><\/span><strong>Guidelines for Adding or Revising Substances<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On May 28, 2025, the CAA released <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caa.go.jp\/policies\/policy\/standards_evaluation\/appliance\/positive_list_new\/consultation\/assets\/cms_standards101_250528_01.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>updated guidelines<\/strong><\/a> (In Japanese language) outlining clear procedures for adding new substances or revising standards for monomers and additives. These guidelines specify:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Required technical <strong>documentation<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Application <strong>forms<\/strong> and evaluation <strong>timelines<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Administrative steps for stakeholder <strong>submissions<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Five-Year_Transition_Period\"><\/span><strong>Five-Year Transition Period<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Importantly, the CAA has confirmed a <strong>five-year transition period<\/strong>, giving businesses until <strong>June\u202f1,\u202f2030<\/strong> to sell or use their stock of food contact materials manufactured or imported <strong>before<\/strong> the enforcement date. This transitional measure ensures a practical shift for manufacturers and importers that need more time to adapt.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Japan\u2019s Positive List system is now fully in force. With the final Q&amp;A, updated amendment guidelines, and the confirmed five-year transition period, stakeholders have a clear compliance roadmap. Companies must ensure that any FCMs placed on the Japanese market from June\u202f1,\u202f2025 onward comply with the Positive List or qualify for an exemption; otherwise, they risk non-compliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In our previous article, we outlined Japan\u2019s introduction of a Positive List (PL) system for food contact materials (FCMs) under the Food Sanitation Act. As the official enforcement date of June\u202f1,\u202f2025 passed, Japan\u2019s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) released crucial updates clarifying final procedures, exemptions, and a phased transition period. &nbsp; Positive List: Finalized Substances and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9755,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,543,545],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-advocacy-enforcement-en","category-packaging-legislation-en","category-28","category-543","category-545","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9765"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9771,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9765\/revisions\/9771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}