Commercial Information Circulars

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

Ref : EIC 230/2/12

11 June 2009

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 302/2009

European Union (EU)* : Active and Intelligent Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 37/2005 of 2 February 2005, the European Commission (the Commission) has adopted a Regulation to establish specific requirements for the marketing and use of active and intelligent materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. Details are set out in the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 450/2009 (the Regulation). The Regulation can be accessed through the following links:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:135:0003:0011:EN:PDF

DETAILS

2. Under the Regulation, active and intelligent materials and articles refer to:

   1. active materials and articles - materials and articles intended to extend the shelf-life or to maintain or improve the condition of packaged food. They are designed to deliberately incorporate components that would release or absorb substances into or from the packaged food or the environment surrounding the food; and

   2. intelligent materials and articles - materials and articles which monitor the condition of packaged food or the environment surrounding the food.

3. Active and intelligent materials and articles may only be placed on the market if they comply with the general requirements for material and articles intended to come into contact with food, special requirements for active and intelligent materials and articles, and the labelling requirements respectively specified in Articles 3, 4 and 15(1)(e) of Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004. They should also comply with the composition, declaration, and other labelling requirements set out in the Regulation. The Commission will also establish a Community list of authorised substances which may be used in components of active and intelligent materials and articles.

ENQUIRIES

4. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Peggy LEUNG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.