Ukraine Strengthens Regulations on Food Contact Materials

 On 2 February 2024, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that Order No 2104 ‘On Approval of Special Requirements for Plastic Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Foodstuffs’ was adopted on 11 December 2023 and will enter into force on 19 November 2025. At the same date the Law of Ukraine No 2718 - IX "On Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food" of 3 November 2022 will come into force.

Order No 2104

The purpose of Order No 2104 is to validate specific requirements for plastics intended to come into contact with food by incorporating the provisions of European Union Regulation (EU) 10/2011 (on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food). Key points of the Order include:

• Defining the scope of food contact plastics

• Specifying that ion exchange resins, rubber, silicones, printing inks, adhesives, and varnishes/coatings are exempted.

• Outlining the compositional requirements for food contact plastics including the use of authorised monomers, starting substances, macromolecules from microbial fermentation (listed in Appendix 1) or substances included in the State Register for the manufacture of food contact plastics.

• Establishing general requirements, restrictions, and technical specifications, such as specific migration limits (SML), overall migration limits (OML), and limits for primary aromatic amines (PAA)

• Providing regulations for plastic multi-layer materials and articles, as well as multi-material multi-layer materials and articles.

The Order provides that plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food and manufactured before the entry into force of the Order, may be in circulation until their expiry date.

The full text of the Order (in Ukrainian) can be found here.

Law No 2718

Ukraine introduced Law No. 2718-IX of 3 November 2022, 'On Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food,' effective from 20 November 2022, with key provisions applicable from19  November 2025. This law incorporates elements from EU regulations on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food and includes the following:

Section I - General provisions:

• Scope: Covers food contact materials (FCMs) and articles.

• Exemptions: Antiques, protective coatings, fixed water supply equipment.

• Defines: Terms, powers of government agencies.

Section II - Requirements for materials and articles:

• Compliance: FCM must comply with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).

• Safety Requirements: General safety, non-deceptive labelling.

• Special Requirements: 18 FCM groups may have specific criteria.

• Recycled Plastics: Allowed if obtained through a state-registered process.

Section III - State registration of articles:

• Outlines requirements and procedures for state registration.

Section IV - Marking, declaration of conformity and ensuring traceability of materials and items:

• Labelling: Information for materials not yet in contact with food.

• Active and Intelligent Materials: Special labelling requirements.

• Declaration of Conformity: For materials with special requirements.

• Traceability: Ensures traceability at all stages for control and recall.

Section V - Good manufacturing practices:

• Details: GMP requirements, quality assurance, and control systems.

Section VI - State control and responsibility:

• Defines: Powers granted to government agencies.

The full text of Law No. 2718-IX of 3 November 2022, can be found here.