Food packaging

Plastics are widely used in food packaging because they extend shelf life, cut food waste, enable lightweight transport, and protect against contamination. However, plastics from food packaging can migrate into food, exposing consumers to contaminants.

Not all types of plastic are food safe. Some may contain chemicals like phthalates that are more likely to leech into food, rendering them unsafe.

Safety of plastic food packaging 

For a plastic to be food safe, it must be authorised for food contact by government regulation and legislation. In Great Britain, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the regulatory body that carries out food contact materials authorisations and sets the standards for packaging suppliers and manufacturers to follow. These standards ensure that plastics used in food packaging have been tested and found to be safe.

Regulating food contact plastics in Northern Ireland

Under the Windsor Framework arrangements, EU rules on the use and authorisation of plastics in food packaging apply in Northern Ireland, enforced by the Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations.

The regulations set an overall migration limit for all food contact plastics and establish:

• 'positive lists' of monomers and starting substances permitted in FCMs
• a list of plastic and production aids for use in food contact plastics
• time and migration limits on using each specific authorised substance

The regulations also allow the use of permitted food additives in the manufacture of food contact plastics. This applies so long as they don't affect the food or exceed legal limits for both plastic and food additives.

Authorisation for food contact plastics in Northern Ireland

If a business wants to use a new substance in food packaging or other food contact materials, it must first prepare a technical file (dossier) using the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) guidance, explaining how the substance or recycling process will be used and why it is safe. The business then sends this dossier to the relevant authority in an EU Member State, using the national contact details provided by the European Commission. That authority passes the dossier to EFSA, which checks it is complete and then assesses the safety of the substance or process for its intended use. 

If EFSA's opinion is positive, the European Commission and Member States can authorise the substance and add it to the EU list of permitted substances for food contact materials. For recycled plastics, a similar system is used, but the authorisation covers the recycling process itself rather than individual substances.