Food Contact Materials
The Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service reports that on Dec. 31, 2024, the European Commission published a regulation that (with very limited exceptions) bans the use of bisphenol A and its salts in the manufacture of food contact materials, including food-contact plastics, varnishes and coatings, printing inks, adhesives, ion-exchange resins, silicones, and rubber.
This regulation entered into force Jan. 20, 2025, but the following phase-in periods are specified: single-use, final food contact articles manufactured using BPA may be placed on the market until July 20, 2026, (2) final food contact articles manufactured using BPA may be placed on the market until July 20, 2028, if they are intended for the preservation of fruits or vegetables (except fruit juices) and fishery products, and (3) single-use final food contact articles on which a varnish or coating manufactured using BPA has only been applied to the exterior metal surface may be placed on the market until July 20, 2028.
Additionally, single-use final food contact articles placed on the market in accordance with the regulation may be filled with food and sealed during the 12 months following the expiry of the applicable transitional period. The resulting packaged food may be placed on the market until stocks are exhausted.
Poultry Imports
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has imposed the restrictions listed below on importations from (1) zones PCZ-259 in Ontario and PCZ-260 in Quebec, Canada (effective Jan. 10) and (2) the Strathbogie restricted and control areas of the state of Victoria, Australia (effective Feb. 8), based on determinations that highly-pathogenic avian influenza exists in domestic birds in these areas.
- Imports of poultry, commercial birds, ratites, avian hatching eggs, unprocessed avian products and byproducts, and certain fresh poultry products originating from or transiting these areas are prohibited.
- Processed avian products and byproducts originating from or transiting these areas, imported as cargo, must be accompanied by an APHIS import permit and/or government certification confirming that the products were treated according to APHIS requirements.
- Importation as cargo of fresh, unprocessed shell/table eggs and other egg products, void of the shell (i.e., liquid eggs, dried egg whites), originating from or transiting these areas is prohibited unless the products are consigned from the port of arrival directly to an APHIS-approved breaking and pasteurization facility. An import permit and/or certificate is not required for these shipments when consigned directly to an APHIS-approved establishment.
Separately, APHIS has removed these restrictions on imports originating from or transiting zone PCZ-250 in Manitoba, Canada (effective Jan. 29) and Kagoshima (effective Feb. 7) and Miyazaki (effective Feb. 10) prefectures in Japan.
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