CIRS Group Korea Presents on EU and Japan Food Contact Material Regulations at KCIA Technical Briefing

On September 17, 2026, the Korea Chemicals Industry Association (KCIA) held its “Second Briefing on Overseas Technical Regulations for Chemical Materials” at the FKI Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, bringing together around 20 companies and organisations, including Daehan Petrochemical, Lotte Chemical, LG Chem, GS Caltex, and the Korea Feed Association to review tightening food contact material (FCM) regulations in the EU, Japan, and China and discuss export compliance strategies.

Seowon Kim, Team Leader of the Household & Personal Care Products team at CIRS Group Korea, presents on Japan's food contact material (FCM) regulatory trends and response strategies

Food contact materials — substances used in packaging, containers, and cooking utensils that touch food directly or indirectly — are coming under stricter scrutiny worldwide, with regulators raising the bar on approved substances, hazardous-substance limits, labelling and traceability, and proof-of-conformity requirements. The briefing covered the EU's full ban on bisphenol A (BPA) and its evolving stance on PFAS, Japan's positive-list system for food contact materials along with a 2026 update to its testing methods, and the practical details and application conditions of China's national standard for food contact materials, GB 4806, as well as Korea's own system for temporarily recognising standards and specifications for containers, utensils, and packaging.

CIRS Group Korea took part as a speaker at the event. Seowon Kim, Team Leader of the Bio-Consumer team at CIRS Group Korea, delivered two presentations on regulatory trends and compliance strategies for food contact materials in the EU and in Japan.

Her EU session walked through the region's three-tier FCM framework the general safety requirements of Framework Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, material-specific rules, and substance-specific measures and the wave of changes taking effect between 2025 and 2028, including the full ban on bisphenol A (BPA) under (EU) 2024/3190, PFAS concentration limits for food-contact packaging under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), and revisions to the Plastic FCM Regulation (EU) No 10/2011. She closed with practical guidance for Korean exporters: mapping which regulations apply by material and use, screening suppliers and raw materials for BPA and PFAS, running conformity testing, and preparing Declarations of Conformity (DoC) ahead of each compliance deadline.

Her Japan session covered the regulatory structure now centered on the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA), which assumed oversight of food contact materials from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in April 2024, along with the Positive List (PL) system that became fully mandatory on June 1, 2025, and the scope of materials and additives it covers. She also introduced Japan's 2026 revisions to testing methods and outlined response steps for Korean companies exporting synthetic-resin food-contact products to Japan, including checking Positive List registration status for base resins and additives and preparing the documentation needed to demonstrate compliance.

KCIA Standing Vice Chairman Eom Chan-wang said he hoped the briefing would help Korean companies understand food contact material regulations in major markets and build rapid response strategies, adding that the Council will continue identifying and sharing overseas technical regulatory trends to actively support companies expanding into global markets.

CIRS Group Korea will continue to track regulatory developments on food contact materials in the EU, Japan, China, and other key markets, and to support Korean companies with compliance consulting, testing coordination, and registration services. For inquiries about FCM compliance, please get in touch with us via service@cirs-group.com.