SG 133/24
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, BfR) has amended recommendations for five different types of food contact material (FCM) and article. These recommendations can be regarded as effective immediately.
In August 2024, Germany’s BfR issued five revised recommendations for food contact silicones, paper and board, as well as temperature resistant polymer coatings for utensils used at high temperatures.
The five amended recommendations (in German or English) are:
- Recommendation XV ‘Silicones
- Recommendation XXXVI ‘Paper and board for food contact
- Recommendation XXXVI/1 ‘Cooking paper, hot filter paper and filter layer’
- Recommendation XXXVI/2 ‘Paper and paperboard for baking purposes’
- Recommendation LI ‘Temperature resistant polymer coating systems for frying, cooking and baking utensils’
Highlights of these recommendations are summarized in Table 1.
| Recommendation as of August 1, 2024 | Highlights | |
| XV ‘Silicones’ |
| |
| XXXVI ‘Paper and board for food contact’ |
| |
| XXXVI/1 ‘Cooking paper, hot filter paper and filter layers’ |
| |
| XXXXI/2 ‘Paper and paperboard for baking purposes’ |
| |
| LI ‘Temperature-resistant coating systems made of polymers for frying, cooking and baking equipment’
|
| |
Table 1
| Entry | Substance | Annex to Recommendation XXXVI, as of August 1, 2024 (migration into foodstuff) | Annex to Recommendation XXXVI, as of February 1, 2023 (migration into foodstuff) | |
| 1 | 4,4’-bis(dimethyamino)-benzophenone | ND (DL 0.01 mg/kg)1 | ND (DL 0.01 mg/kg)2 | |
| 2 | Phthalates: Diethylhexy phthalate (DEHP) Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) | 0.6 mg/kg (DEHP) 0.12 mg/kg (DBP) 0.15 mg/kg (DIBP) (≤ 0.6 mg/kg for sum of DBP, DIBP and DEHP, calculated as DEHP equivalents using the formula DBP x 5 + DIBP x 4 + DEHP x 1) | 1.5 mg/kg (DEHP) 0.3 mg/kg (DBP) 0.3 mg/kg (DIBP) (≤ 0.3 mg/kg for sum of DBP and DIBP) | |
| 3 | Benzophenone | 0.6 mg/kg | 0.6 mg/kg | |
| 4 | Bisphenol A (BPA) | 0.05 mg/kg1 | 0.05 mg/kg2 | |
| 5 | Bisphenol S (BPS) | 0.05 mg/kg1 | 0.05 mg/kg2 | |
| 6 | Diisopropyl naphthalene | As low as technically feasible | As low as technically feasible | |
Table 2. Annex to Recommendation XXXVI ‘Paper and board for food contact’
1Testing is not necessary if paper and board are intended for contact with dry food and at the same time non-fatty foodstuffs (e.g. flour, semolina, rice, breakfast cereals, breadcrumbs, sugar and salt)
2Verification of the specifications is only required if the finished goods are intended for use with moist and fatty foodstuffs
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