Thailand Designates Industrial Standards for Food-Contact Paper as Mandatory 
On 24 December 2025, Thailand’s Ministry of Industry promulgated ministerial regulations designating two industrial standards related to food-contact paper as mandatory standards. Under these regulations, the following standards, which had previously been applied on a voluntary basis, will become compulsory from 22 June 2026. From that date onward, the manufacture and import of non-compliant products will be prohibited.
The newly designated mandatory standards are:
- TIS 2948-2562 (2019): Paper for Food Contact
- TIS 3438-2565 (2023): Cooking Paper
The original text of above-mentioned ministerial regulations are available at :
- Ministerial Regulation regarding designation of Paper for Food Contact as industrial products which shall conform to industrial standard
https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/100202.pdf - Ministerial Regulation regarding designation of Cooking Paper as industrial products which shall conform to industrial standard
https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/100203.pdf
About TIS 2948-2562(2019)
Scope:
The standard specifies safety requirements for the paper, board, and paper containers without color composition in paper texture for general and hot-fills of foods both direct and indirect contact with foods that has the opportunity of chemical migration into the food. The standard does not cover paper, board, and paper containers for hot liquid filtration and reheating or cooking foods purposes.
Type of paper for food contact
Paper for food contact is classified into 2 types based on the raw material;
-
- Virgin pulp type, and
- Recycled pulp type.
In addition, paper for food contact is classified into 2 types based on the application;
-
- Sheet paper for processing, and
- Container type (molded / sheet-processed).
Requirements for materials
In the case of virgin pulp type, it must be 100% of virgin pulp. In the case of recycled pulp type, it must not be made from or contain paper originated from contamination sources, including wastes, used sanitary paper, and carbon paper. Chemicals used in the production process, printing ink, and adhesive materials must be food contact grade.
Standard of chemical concentration in paper for food contact
Chemical concentration in paper for food contact both in virgin pulp and recycled pulp type shall meet the standard maximum limits in the table below.
| No. | Chemical Substances | Standard | Test method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lead | Not exceed 3 mg/kg | EN 12498 |
| 2 | Cadmium | Not exceed 0.5 mg/kg | EN 12498 |
| 3 | Mercury | Not exceed 0.3 mg/kg | EN 12497 |
| 4 | Optical Brightening Agent* (OBA) | ND | EN 648 |
| 5 | Antimicrobial Constituent | No antimicrobial constituent transfer | EN 1104 |
| 6 | Azo Dye | ND | ISO 14362-1 |
| 7 | Phthalate
|
|
EN 16453 |
| 8 | Bisphenol A | Not exceed 0.24 mg/kg | CEN/TS 13130-13 |
| 9 | 4,4’-bis(dimethylamino)benzophenone | ND | Extract sample with an ethanol solution, analyze with HPLC, and measured absorbance by UV detector |
| 10 | Benzophenone | Not exceed 0.6 mg/kg | Extract sample with an ethanol solution, dry under N2 at 25ºC, dissolve in ethanol, and then analyze by GC-MS |
