Northern Ireland Consults On Food-Contact Enforcement Rules

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has opened a consultation on replacing Northern Ireland's food-contact-materials enforcement regulations with a consolidated framework. The consultation opened on 5 November 2026 and closes at 23:59 on 29 January 2027.

The proposals concern manufacturers and suppliers of food-contact materials, food businesses that buy, use or market them, and enforcement bodies. The FSA says the proposed regulations would support enforcement of applicable EU requirements, rather than create new material or packaging standards.

Replacing the 2012 Framework

The FSA proposes revoking and replacing the Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 with new 2027 regulations. The consultation pack explains that the existing framework sets out offences, penalties, competent-authority responsibilities and domestic enforcement arrangements.

The proposed replacement would update enforceable requirements for plastics, recycled plastics and bisphenol A and related substances. It would also extend improvement notices to additional requirements and clarify the roles of the FSA and district councils. For recycled plastics, the proposals include official-control and audit functions, alongside documentation and declaration requirements. Consultation, sections 3–4 and Annex A.

Limited Packaging Scope

For the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, the consultation concerns domestic enforcement of Article 5(4) and Article 5(5), limited to food-contact packaging. Those provisions address specified heavy metals and PFAS.

The consultation does not cover the regulation's wider environmental or waste-management provisions. The FSA is seeking views before finalising the draft statutory rule; the proposals have not yet become Northern Ireland's replacement enforcement regulations. Consultation, section 3 and Annex A.