EFSA Issues New Guidance on Food Contact Materials as Safety Assessment Requirements Draw Attention

Plastic components used in food processing equipment often have to meet several requirements at the same time. The material must be suitable for its intended food contact application while also withstanding mechanical loads, repeated cleaning and changes in operating temperature. In conveying, sorting, processing and packaging machinery, guides, supports, bushings and other plastic parts may not determine the equipment's main function, but their performance can affect operating stability, maintenance frequency and production efficiency. Selecting a material based only on mechanical strength or purchase price can lead to problems later, including wear, deformation or incomplete compliance documentation.

On October 16, 2026, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published guidance on the data required to assess the safety of bisphenols other than bisphenol A and their derivatives in food contact materials. The document supplements EFSA's existing guidance for food contact material assessments and helps applicants identify the data needed for safety evaluations. It is not a blanket requirement to replace all food contact plastics. However, it reinforces an important point: suitability for food contact cannot be established by a polymer name or a general product description alone. The EU framework also addresses the potential migration of substances into food, applicable migration limits, declarations of compliance and manufacturing quality control. These developments are relevant to suppliers serving food processing equipment manufacturers and other businesses targeting the European market. (Sources: EFSA Food Contact Materials; European Commission food contact legislation.)

For an actual component, material selection involves much more than finding a plastic labelled “Food Grade.” Different parts of food processing equipment can operate under very different conditions. Some require wear resistance and dimensional stability during repeated sliding; others are exposed to hot water, cleaning agents or fats; and some must maintain mechanical strength under continuous loads. PA6 and PA66 engineering plastics may be suitable for selected components, but their suitability for food contact depends on the specific formulation, additives, target-market regulations, food type, temperature and duration of contact. An industrial-grade compound cannot automatically be considered food-contact compliant simply because it uses the same base polymer.

Material performance is also closely connected to injection molding. Wall thickness, ribs, radii and assembly features influence filling, shrinkage and dimensional stability. If the material is poorly matched to the mold design, a component may still experience warpage, assembly difficulties or dimensional variation even when the material itself provides the expected mechanical properties. For reusable food processing equipment components, material evaluation should therefore begin during product development, taking food contact requirements, mechanical performance, cleaning conditions and the intended molding process into account. Addressing these factors early can reduce the likelihood of repeated mold trials or material changes later.

This is where application-specific engineering plastics can be valuable. For plastic components intended for food-related applications, TechInherit can assess material options such as PA6 and PA66 in relation to the intended use, while considering material modification, part geometry, mold development and injection molding together. For components affected by wear, deformation or high manufacturing costs, optimization should look beyond resin price to consider whether the material is over-specified, whether the component design is appropriate and whether the molding conditions are suitable. Food contact projects also require verification of the specific material grade and its supporting compliance documentation; suitability for a particular market should never be assumed from the polymer name alone.

As safety assessments for food contact materials continue to evolve, food equipment manufacturers need to consider material safety, functional performance and production consistency together. The most suitable solution is not necessarily the highest-performance or lowest-priced plastic, but a material and manufacturing approach that meets the intended food contact requirements while remaining compatible with the component design and production process.