Thailand makes a survey of bioplastic food packaging and container

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Ministry of Public Health has launched an online survey of bioplastic food packaging and container in January 2021. The objective of the survey is to collect information about bioplastic food packaging and container manufactured, imported, and used in Thailand.

As with other countries, plastic pollution is one of the largest environmental concerns in Thailand. To control food safety, the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health (No. 295) B.E. 2548 (2005) regarding Qualities or Standard for Container Made from Plastic was published in the Royal Gazette on 6 January 2006. The notification sets out a standard for chemical concentration in the products and a standard for chemical migration from the products. Different standard for several hazardous chemicals (heavy metals, volatile substances, bisphenol A and etc.) was set for each type of plastic material, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, nylon, melamine and etc. Although the notification has been playing a role as a national standard for plastic food packaging and container, no standard has been established for bioplastic products so far.

Manufacturers, importers, and users of bioplastic materials or bioplastic food packaging and containers are encouraged to answer the questionnaire survey. FDA will use the information and data regarding chemicals in bioplastic products and exposure risk for future policy development. The survey will be closed on 26 February 2021.

More information is available at
https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/food/SitePages/View.aspx?T=FoodNews&TF=1&IDdata=155

Download the original text of the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health (No. 295) B.E. 2548 (2005) at
http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2549/00179530.PDF