Partial Amendment Notification of 'Standards and Specifications for Utensils and Containers/Packaging'

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Notification No. 2024-29, Partial Amendment Notification of 'Standards and Specifications for Utensils and Containers/Packaging'

1. Reason for amendment

To reasonably improve the printing standards of food utensils to allow for the development and production of various products (such as printing on kitchen knives, etc.) under common standards and specifications, while deleting the test method for the total elution content of metals removed from the utensils and containers/packaging standards and supplementing the inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry test method for accurate quantification of arsenic and inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry test content (setting calibration lines and adding test method content) to clarify standards and specifications text, aiming to improve and supplement minor deficiencies in standards and specifications text for consistency and uniformity in frontline application.

 

2. Key points

1) Improvement of printing standards for food contact surfaces of food utensils

    (1) Reflecting the development, production, support of various products (such as knives), and diversification of printing methods due to scientific and technological advancements by reasonably improving the printing standards for surfaces of utensils that directly contact food.

 

2) Improvement of arsenic quantification analysis method with calibration lines

    (1) Deletion of test method for total elution content specifications removed from metal material specifications.

    (2) Addition of calibration lines in inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry methods for accurate quantification of arsenic and improvement of test method content using calibration lines.

 

3) When the materials and colors of the main body and accessories are the same, the main body shall be tested and standards and specifications applied according to the new standard.

    (1) Clarification of wording and basis regulations to prevent confusion in interpretation when applying standards and specifications.

    (2) Clarification of text application of standards and specifications for testing the main body and making judgments for defects in cases of devices, containers, and packaging composed of the same material and color of the main body and accessories.

    (3) Clarification of the range of synthetic resin materials in the criteria for recycled materials and clarification of specifications applied to the final product in the criteria for active and smart containers/packaging, correction of the English name error for polyarylsulfone, standardization of the English name of antimony trichloride in the antimony test method, and revision of standards and specifications text.

3. Other references

1) Related laws: Article 9 of the Food Sanitation Act

2) Budget measures: No separate measures required

3) Consent: Not applicable

 

4. Other

1) Administrative notice: Notice No. 2024-97, February 27, 2024 (From February 27, 2024, to April 27, 2024)

2) Approval for review by the Regulatory Reform Committee of the Office for Government Policy Coordination (February 15, 2024): Not applicable

3) Review by the Food Additives Subcommittee of the Food Sanitation Committee (May 20, 2024, to May 24, 2024): Original resolution

 

For detailed regulations, you can refer to the following MFDS website.

https://www.mfds.go.kr/brd/m_207/view.do?seq=14983&srchFr=&srchTo=&srchWord=&srchTp=&itm_seq_1=0&itm_seq_2=0&multi_itm_seq=0&company_cd=&company_nm=&page=1