FDA Obligations – Part 1
Food Contact Substances
Haley Will and Judi Haber
UL-STR / PPAI Product Safety Consultants
This information is being furnished by PPAI for educational
and informational purposes only. The Association makes no
warranties or representations about specific dates,
coverage or application. Consult with appropriate legal
counsel about the specific application of the law to your
business and products.
FDA Overview
• Science-based regulatory agency
• Organized by product area
• Employs many types of scientific professionals, lawyers,
analysts etc.
• Oldest comprehensive consumer protection agency in
the US federal government.
• Began regulating food contact substances in 1958
FDA Responsibilities
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Protect the public health by assuring that foods are safe, wholesome,
sanitary and properly labeled; human and veterinary drugs, and vaccines
and other biological products and medical devices intended for human use
are safe and effective
Protect the public from electronic product radiation
Assure cosmetics and dietary supplements are safe and properly labeled
Regulate tobacco products
Advance the public health by helping to speed product innovations
Help the public get the accurate science-based information they need to
use medicines, devices, and foods to improve their health
FDA’s responsibilities extend to the 50 United States, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and
other U.S. territories and possessions
Definitions
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Food Contact Substance (FCS): Any substance that is intended for use
as a component of materials used in manufacturing, packing, packaging,
transporting, or holding food if such use of the substance is not intended to
have any technical effect in such food
• Food Contact Material (FCM): Made with the FCS and (usually) other
substances - often (but not necessarily) a mixture, such as an antioxidant
in a polymer - the composition may be variable
• Food Contact Article: The finished product (film, bottle, tray, or whatever
is formed out of the FCM)
What does the FDA regulate?
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Foods
Dietary Supplements
Human Drugs
Vaccines, Blood Products, and Other Biologics
Medical Devices
Electronic Products
Cosmetics
Veterinary Products
What does the FDA not regulate?
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Advertising (except prescription drugs and devices)
Alcohol (some joint regulation)
Consumer Products (household goods, toys)
Drugs of Abuse (controlled substances)
Health Insurance (Medicare/Medicaid)
Meat and Poultry
Pesticides (EPA establishes tolerance levels; USDA and
FDA enforce)
• Water (EPA develops standards, FDA regulates labeling
and safety)
Promotional Products Most Affected
• Drinkware and glassware including water bottles
• Food cutlery
• Food containers and food contact items such as metal
gift tins
FDA Regulations for Food Contact Material
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Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations
Prior sanction letter
Meeting the criteria for GRAS status
Threshold of Regulation exemption request
Effective Food Contact Notification (FCN)
May ask manufacturer for a Letter of Guaranty
certifying that a particular product is acceptable for
the intended food-contact use
How To Determine Compliance
Consult 21 CFR 174-179 to see if
the use of the component is an
appropriately regulated indirect
additive
Consult 21 CFR 182-186 to see if
the use of the component is
Generally Recognized as Safe
(GRAS) or consult the list of
GRAS Notices
Consult 21 CFR 181 to see if the
use of the component is Prior
Sanctioned
Consult the listing of Threshold of
Regulation Exemptions
Consult the listing of Effective Food Contact Substance Notifications
Other Options
Submit a Threshold
of Regulation
Exemption Request
Or
↔
Submit a Food
Contact
Substance
Notification
Or
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Satisfy the criteria
for GRAS status
21 CFR 174-179
• General Indirect Food Additives (21 CFR 174)
• Adhesives and Components of Coatings (21 CFR 175)
• Paper and Paperboard Components (21 CFR 176)
• Polymers (21 CFR 177)
• Adjuvants, Production Aids, and Sanitizers (21 CFR 178)
• Irradiation in the Production, Processing and Handling of Food (21
CFR 179)
Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)
• Designation that a chemical or substance added to
food is considered safe by experts, and so is
exempted from the usual Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food additive tolerance
requirements
• Example: Stainless Steel
Prior Sanctioned
• A substance whose use in or on food is the subject of a
letter issued by FDA or USDA offering no objection to a
specific use
• Prior sanction exists only for a specific use of a
substance in food delineating level(s), condition(s) and
product(s)
Threshold of Regulation Exemption Request
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A substance used in a food contact article may be
exempted from the requirement of a food additive
listing regulation if the use in question has been shown
to meet the requirements in 21 CFR 170.39
Food Contact Substance Notification Program
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Streamlined the way the FDA conducted business
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Established a notification process for food-contact substances
• Defined a food-contact substance as "any substance intended for
use as a component of materials used in manufacturing,
packing, packaging, transporting, or holding food if such use is
not intended to have a technical effect in such food"
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Intended to replace the petition process as the primary means for
authorizing new uses of food additives that are food-contact
substances
Ceramic Drinkware & Tableware
FDA Guidelines 545.400 & 545.450
• Internal Exposure Only
California Proposition 65
• Internal Exposure
• Total Immersion – Externally Decorated Articles
• NIOSH Wipe – Externally Decorated Articles
• Lip & Rim – Decoration within top 20 mm of rim
Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products
• Lip & Rim - Decoration within top 20 mm of rim
California Proposition 65 Settlements
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Ceramicware that is externally decorated
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Aluminum cookware
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Beverage containers with colored artwork, made of glass, plastic,
ceramic, resin, vacuum metalizing, dolomite, and/or metal
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Brass handled cookware
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Food use items such as glasses, pilsners, mugs, carafes,
tumblers, bottles, condiment dispensers, bowls, cups, saucers,
plates, trays, pitchers, punch bowls, serving utensils and serving
platters
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Water bottles and soft beverage containers made of PVC
Other State & Industry Requirements
Massachusetts Lead Prevention & Control
• Requires total immersion of the decorated glassware or ceramic
drinkware, with a lead limit of 2 ppm
• FDA test is performed on the interior only, so this is a more stringent test
Bisphenol A
• Primarily used in polycarbonate plastic as well as epoxy resins and
polysulfone materials
• Used in baby bottles and water bottles for decades
• Also used in coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans
• Concerns with potential effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland
of fetuses, infants and children
FDA’s Current Perspective on BPA
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FDA is taking reasonable steps to reduce human exposure to BPA
in the food supply
– no longer permit BPA-based polycarbonate products aimed specifically at
feeding children. This ban was put into place in July 2012.
– supporting the industry’s actions to stop producing BPA-containing baby bottles
and infant feeding cups for the US market
– facilitating the development of alternatives to BPA for the linings of infant
formula cans
– supporting efforts to replace BPA or minimize BPA levels in other food can
linings
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FDA is supporting a shift to a more robust regulatory framework for
oversight of BPA
FDA is seeking further public comment and external input on the
science surrounding BPA
Quality Concerns for Drinkware
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Leakage (burn hazard)
Breakage
Drinking spout detachment
Handle temperature
Handle strength
Lid fit
Additional Performance Tests
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Microwave compatibility
Dishwasher compatibility
Heat retention
Lid fit
Leakage
Stain resistance
Breakage
Handle strength
Thermal shock
Articles Intended for Children
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Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA)
CPSIA Ban on Lead-containing Paint
CPSIA Lead Content in Substrate Materials
CPSIA Phthalates Ban
CPSIA Tracking Label Requirements
Is It A Children’s Product?
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Who is the intended audience?
Will this item be distributed to children?
How will the products be distributed?
What kind of logo do you intend to use?
Do you typically keep items in stock for future use or
do you distribute all items?
 Do the customer’s preferred products have child-like
appeal or playful elements? Or do those products
have “diminishing appeal” to the 12 and under crowd?
Product Safety Resources
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PPAI: www.ppai.org
Product Safety powered by PPAI: http://www.ppai.org/insideppai/product-safety/
Consumer Product Safety Commission: www.cpsc.gov,
www.recalls.gov
American National Standards Institute: www.ansi.org or
www.astm.org
FDA: www.fda.gov
UL-STR: www.ul.com/consumerproducts
Questions? AnneL@ppai.org
Thank you!
Questions?