Good regulation starts with listening.
Well done to the FOD Volksgezondheid/SPF Santé Publique for taking the initiative, at a very early stage of the revision of European legislation on food contact materials (FCM), to engage in dialogue with businesses, experts and sectoral federations. This is an approach that deserves to be encouraged.
Thank you to Els Heyvaert, Andrea Carletta and Camille Baugnies for this open and constructive exchange.
On behalf of inDUfed, we highlighted three key messages:
✅ Same responsibility, different resources: SMEs have the same responsibility as large companies to place safe and compliant food contact materials on the market. However, they do not have the same resources. Appropriate support is therefore essential.
✅ Information must flow in both directions: A robust risk assessment requires information from both upstream and downstream actors in the value chain, in a usable and comprehensible format.
✅ Clearly defined roles and responsibilities: Future legislation must specify who is responsible for generating, transmitting and assessing information within the value chain, in order to ensure an adequate assessment of the safety of the final food-contact material.
Food safety is non-negotiable. That is why it is essential that future FCM legislation is not only ambitious, but also clear and practicable.
Follow inDUfed for more information.
