CERT provides specialist regulatory and technical support across all product sectors, including food contact materials. We help businesses navigate complex EU and UK requirements with clarity and confidence. Interested in tailored support? Register your project interest so we can arrange a complimentary call with the relevant regulatory professional in our team.

Food‑contact materials in the EU and Great Britain are regulated under dedicated frameworks that sit alongside general product‑safety and food‑law requirements.

What counts as food‑contact materials

Food‑contact materials (FCMs) include any material or article intended to come into contact with food, already in contact with food, or that can indirectly be expected to contact food during its life cycle. They cover packaging, containers, cookware and kitchenware, processing equipment, printing inks, adhesives, coatings, and intermediate layers, made from plastics, paper and board, metals, glass, ceramics, rubber, silicones, inks, adhesives, and more, and whether used for consumer products or in food‑industry settings. Decorative or peripheral items with no realistic food contact may fall only under general product safety rules, while components such as lids, seals, coatings, and printing inks are in scope if they can contact food directly or indirectly.

Core obligations include:

• Determining whether the product, its components and intermediate layers are food‑contact materials or articles, and identifying all substances and materials that may migrate into food.

• Designing FCMs that, under normal/foreseeable use, do not transfer constituents to food in quantities that could harm health, cause change in food composition, or deteriorate its organoleptic properties.

• Maintaining a technical file containing risk assessments, material specifications, supply‑chain declarations, test reports (overall/specific migration, screening for NIAS, etc.), and any compliance evaluations.

• Providing clear instructions and limitations of use, such as temperature ranges, types of food the material is suitable for, contact time restrictions, and any conditions needed to ensure safety.

• Applying an appropriate conformity‑assessment strategy, which combines material selection, worst‑case calculation and/or laboratory testing against relevant EU or UK FCM measures and standards.

• Drawing up, issuing and retaining Declarations of Compliance (or equivalent documentation) for the relevant stages in the supply chain, referencing applicable legislation, restrictions, specifications and supporting evidence.

Markings and information

Food‑contact materials that are not obviously intended for food must bear the “food‑safe” symbol (glass‑and‑fork) or a clearly worded indication of their food‑contact use.
Articles should display durable identification of the manufacturer (and importer, where applicable), product designation and traceability information such as batch or lot numbers, supported by internal systems that allow tracking through the supply chain. Accompanying documentation must include any conditions of safe use, material‑specific restrictions, and information needed by downstream users and food businesses to handle and use the products safely and compliantly.

How we can help

We can help scope whether products are regulated as FCMs, map applicable EU and UK requirements, and select suitable materials and suppliers for plastics, metals, ceramics, paper and board, and multi‑layer structures. Our team supports drafting and reviewing Declarations of Compliance and technical files, interpreting test data, advising on labelling and user information, and providing gap analyses, horizon scanning, and training for teams involved in food‑contact compliance.
With tailored, end‑to‑end support, CERT helps you place food contact material articles on the EU and UK markets that are safe, compliant and fully supported by robust documentation and expert guidance.