New French Law for Food Contact Rubber and Pacifiers for Young Children

France publishes a new law – Order of
August 5, 2020 – covering food contact rubber materials and articles and
pacifiers for infants and young children.

Issued on August 11, 2020, the Order
repeals and replaces Order of November 9, 1994 – rubber materials and articles
in contact with foodstuffs, food products and drinks. The new law contains
multiple important changes:

  • Clarification
    to the definition of rubber covers vulcanized thermoplastic elastomers, but not
    silicone elastomers
  • Lists of
    authorized substances for the manufacture of rubber materials and articles
    intended to come into contact with food and pacifiers for infants and young
    children updated
  • Restrictions
    and specifications for these authorized substances updated due to new
    scientific information, including specific migration limits (SMLs)
  • Certain
    rules for verifying the conformity of rubber materials and articles updated
  • Completely
    new requirement for declaration of compliance (Doc) added
  • Expresses
    overall migration limits (OMLs) and their requirements in one of two
    specifications:

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o ≤ 10 mg/dm² for 1) all articles 2) pacifiers for
infants and young children and 3) gaskets, valves and valve elements where the
ratio between the surface in contact with food and the volume is not known or
specified

o ≤ 60 mg/kg for 1) food contact materials and articles
for infants and young children 2) bottle nipples (teats) and 3) gaskets, valves
and valve elements where the ratio between the surface in contact with food and
the volume is known or specified

Stakeholders should be aware the new law
covers:

  • Food
    contact rubber materials and articles, rubber pacifiers for infants and young
    children, as well as intermediate materials and substances used in their
    manufacture
  • Bottle
    nipples (teats) and pacifiers for infants and young children that are made of
    elastomer or rubber when specifically mentioned in the law

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For more information on the provisions
within the new law, including specific migration levels, view SafeGuard 128/20.

Order of August 5, 2020 comes into effect
on July 1, 2021, although food contact rubber materials and articles that
comply with the previous Order and were placed onto the market before this date
can continue to be sold until their stocks are exhausted.

SGS Toy & Juvenile Product Services

SGS offers a wide range of services to ensure that products comply with
relevant standards for childcare articles and children’s equipment. They
provide consulting, training, product development, testing, audit and inspection
services to ensure that products comply with strict regulations worldwide,
demonstrating the safety and quality of juvenile products being brought to the
market.
Learn more about SGS’s Toy & Juvenile Product Services.

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France
Issues New Order on Food Contact Rubber and Pacifiers for Young Children
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For further information contact:

Hingwo Tsang

Global Information and Innovation Manager

Tel:(+852) 2774 7420

Email: crs.media@sgs.com

Website: www.sgs.com/hardlines

LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

About SGS

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