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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
MY COLOUR

Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 411/2, EIC 413/2, EIC 429/2, EIC 432/2

9 August 2010

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 360/2010

MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) : Safety Requirements for Artificial Colours Used in Food Contact Plastic Containers and Equipment

The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, has issued technical regulations on artificial colours used in food contact plastic containers and equipment. These regulations are to be incorporated into the national laws of the MERCOSUR member countries by 15 December 2010 and applied to cover plastic containers and equipment produced in or imported for consumption into the MERCOSUR member countries.

DETAILS

  1. Specifically, the regulations establish the following limits for artificial colours used in food contact plastic containers and equipment:

  • unsulfonated aromatic amines in organic artificial colours - the content of unsulfonated primary aromatic amines which are soluble in hydrochloric acid solution 1 M, expressed as aniline, must not exceed 500 parts per million (ppm) (mg/kg) of the mass of the artificial colour (0.05% m/m), and the content of benzidine, beta-naphthylamine and 4-aminobiphenyl, alone or combined, must not exceed 10 ppm (mg/kg);
     

  • sulfonated aromatic amines in organic artificial colours - the total content of sulfonated aromatic amines expressed as aniline sulphonic acid must not exceed 500 ppm (mg/kg) of the mass of the artificial colour (0.05% m/m);
     

  • metals and metalloids in artificial colours - the artificial colours shall not contain metals and metalloids in quantities which exceed the following limits: antimony (0.05% m/m), arsenic (0.005% m/m), barium (0.01% m/m), cadmium (0.01% m/m), chromium (0.1% m/m), lead (0.01% m/m), mercury (0.005% m/m), selenium (0.01% m/m) and zinc (0.2% m/m); and
     

  • smoke-black pigment - the smoke-black pigment must comply with the following specifications: extractable in toluene (0.1% m/m maximum), extractable in cyclehexane (386 nm < 0.02 UA for a cell of one centimetre or < 0.1 UA for a cell of five centimetres), benzo(a)pyrene content (0.25 mg/kg (ppm) m/m maximum); and maximum level of smoke-black pigment in polymer (2.5% m/m).

  1. For details of the regulations and the products involved, traders are advised to consult their importers in MERCOSUR member countries and/or the relevant MERCOSUR notice (in Spanish or Portuguese) which can be retrieved from the website at http://200.40.51.218/SAM/GestDoc/pubweb.nsf/Normativa?ReadForm&lang=ESP&id=11C05C92B751D01A8325774600542356.

ENQUIRIES

  1. For enquiries about the content of this circular, please contact Miss S Y TANG at telephone number 2398 5405. 

Yours faithfully,




(Miss Bonny CHAO)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry