Keller and Heckman Partner Hazel O’Keeffe will give a presentation, titled, “Ensuring compliance with the Japanese food contact legislation – the challenges” at the 2020 Plastics and Paper in Contact with Foodstuffs virtual conference. The conference will provide insights on the latest legislation from jurisdictions around the world that impact plastic and paper food-contact materials and articles (as well as printing inks, coatings, and adhesives), along with compliance case studies.

Keller and Heckman partners Hazel O’Keeffe and Mark Thompson will be among the speakers at the 14th Biennial International Symposium on Worldwide Regulation of Food Packaging, to be held June 11-14, 2019, in Baltimore, Maryland. Ms. O’Keeffe will present “EU Activities Related to Food Packaging Safety Assessment”.  Mr. Thompson will present “Industry Perspective on Regulation of Food Packaging in Japan”.

Keller and Heckman Partner David Ettinger and Associate Eric Gu will speak on the Amendments to the Chemical Substance Control Law in Japan at the Chemical Watch Regulatory Summit Asia 2019. This three-day conference will take place in Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. More information, including how to register, can be found here.

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has published a request for nominations for “existing substances” be included on the Positive List (PL) of “synthetic resins” for food-contact materials (FCMs) with corresponding submission forms. “Existing substances” include those marketed or used for food-contact utensils, containers and packages (UCP) in Japan prior to the effective date for the PL (i.e., June 1, 2020).  The deadline for filing such nominations is October 30, 2020.

On July 20, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) published draft Lists of Existing Substances with proposed revisions to Appended Table 1 of MHLW Notification No. 370, the Positive List (PL) of substances used in synthetic resins for utensils, containers and packaging (UCP). The draft Lists can be accessed from MHLW’s website.

The Japanese Government has announced that the country will transition to a positive list system for regulating food-contact materials on April 1, 2020. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) initially announced the possibility of moving to a positive list system for regulating food-contact materials in July 2015.

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW) recently released GMP guidelines as part of the country’s move to a positive list system for regulating food-contact materials.* The GMP guidelines include a proposed positive list of 32 resins that are based on the existing positive lists developed by the Japan Hygienic PVC Association (JHPA) and the Japan Hygienic Olefin and Styrene Plastics Association (JHOSPA).  Masakazu Isurugi, Managing Director of JHPA, reported this development to attendees at Keller and Heckman’s inaugural Food Packaging Law Seminar, held in Tokyo, Japan, on No

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has issued a final report that details the steps that should be taken to develop and implement a positive list system for regulating food-contact materials. The Report, prepared by the Committee on the Regulation of Food Utensils, Containers and Packaging, was published on June 16, 2017, and an English version was posted on MHLW’s website on Aug. 7, 2017.