This study found that sustainability in the context of Food Contact Materials (FCMs) could be best defined using the United Nations’ concept of “sustainable development”: “FCMs contribute to sustainable development when they meet current needs of ensuring security of food supply and keeping food safe without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” The study identified problems to be addressed for the production and consumption of FCMs to match this definition. Science shows these problems are already severe. Data on market size and volumes suggest that changes to FCMs, and especially packaging, could contribute significantly to addressing them. FCMs’ sustainability problems could be addressed to an extent, by existing EU policies, including legislation on packaging, eco-design, and single plastics, as well as private initiatives. However, there are still a number of unaddressed gaps and opportunities that would be appropriately tackled in FCM legislation. The study indentified instances where legislation does not currently provide sufficient specification or legal guarantees for the FCM sector; a number of EU-endorsed sustainability objectives that have not yet been translated to the whole FCM sector; or parts of the FCM sector that are excluded from current or forthcoming EU legislation on sustainability. Based on this assessment, the study followed a strict prioritisation process that led to selecting and elaborating four potential measures to consider in future legislation that could contribute to improving the sustainability of FCM consumption and production.

The study is available here.