China notified the WTO concerning a National Standard on Inks used in Food Contact Materials and Articles on November 5, 2020. This Standard, G/SPS/N/CHN/1187 (available in Chinese*), applies to inks applied to food contact materials and articles, and specifies the safety requirements for such inks. Notably, the draft Standard includes definitions, basic requirements, sensory requirements, and imposes limits on impurities (e.g., heavy metal residues) and migration. In addition, the draft Standard provides requirements applicable to the labeling of such inks.

A copy of China’s notification can be found here. Comments are due by January 4, 2021.  

* ​Keller and Heckman has an unofficial version of the standard in English available.