New EU regulation for plastics coming into contact with food (EU 1245/2020)

In September 2020, the European Union published an amendment to Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 in the form of Regulation (EU) No 1245/2020. Products containing materials and items intended to come into contact with food must meet the general requirements laid out in Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and in the German Food and Feed Code (LFGB). If these materials and items are made of plastic, the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 and 1245/2020 must also be fulfilled.

With the entry into force of Regulation (EU) No. 1245/2020 on September 23, 2020, we as the VDE Testing and Certification Institute and a GS Body are required to adapt the content and testing of the VDE GS mark approvals issued by us to the new requirements in terms of content and testing.

Due to the legal requirements of Regulation (EU) No 1245/2020, the VDE must review all mark approvals that are currently open-ended or that are valid beyond September 22, 2022, and change the end date to September 22, 2022 where applicable.

Important note:

Products containing materials and items made of plastic that comply with Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 and 1245/2020 and that were first put into circulation before March 23, 2021, can still be put into circulation until September 22, 2022, and remain in circulation until the supply has been exhausted.

From our perspective, there are three possible scenarios.

Scenario 1:

The validity period for your VDE GS mark approval ends before September 22, 2022 and is not going to be renewed:

• In this case, you do not need to do anything about your VDE GS mark approval. However, please see the above note about putting the product into circulation.

Scenario 2:

The validity period for your VDE GS mark approval ends before September 22, 2022, but you wish to extend it beyond this period:

• In this case, you need to take early action in order to provide proof that the new requirements have been fulfilled. 
• Proof can be provided as follows:
  a) You engage us to audit the relevant materials.
  This test can be ordered separately or in connection with a product test.
  b) You provide us with a test report from an accredited body.

Note:

We may not accept manufacturer's declarations for eligible materials as evidence.

The requirements of (EU) No. 10/2011 and its extension by (EU) No. 2020/1245 will be used as a basis for product tests within the scope of a VDE GS mark test with immediate effect.

All new VDE GS mark approvals must now be issued on the basis of the updated EU regulation, so all VDE GS marks obtained after March 22, 2021 comply with the currently valid requirements of the LFGB with regard to materials and articles in contact with food.
Compliance with these requirements is made clear by a separate note in the mark approval.

As a manufacturer, you will incur additional expenses as a result of the changes to the aforementioned EU regulation.

We would be happy to help you with the necessary steps to adapt and/or update your mark approval.

If you have any questions about this topic, please contact Stephanie Werner.