MERCOSUR’s final draft of the revised GMC Resolution No. 32/07 permitting additives that may be used in the manufacture of plastic food-contact materials is undergoing a public national and international consultation prior to publication. The resolution includes specific migration limits and usage restrictions for an updated list of permitted additives, in addition to defining calculation methods for assessing compliance with SMLs.

The final draft was elevated to the National Coordinators during the MERCOSUR SGT No. 3 meeting at the end of August. The next step is for the draft to be published in each Member State (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) for a consultation period of at least 60 days. Once the National Coordinators receive comments, they will be reviewed and forwarded to the MERCOSUR Food Packaging Group for review and to the executive body of MERCOSUR, Grupo Mercado Común (GMC) for final revisions.  Thereafter, it will be sanctioned formally (with any modifications) as a GMC Resolution and published by MERCOSUR. The final step is for Member States to transpose the new GMC Resolution into their national legislations within 180 days, pursuant to GMC Resolution No. 45/17.

The proposed revised draft resolution, “MERCOSUR Technical Regulation on the positive list of additives for the preparation of plastic materials and polymeric coating in contact with foodstuffs,” was also notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on September 9, 2018. WTO announced that the final date for comments on the draft resolution is November 4, 2018.