UK Proposes Ban on BPA and Other Bisphenols in Food Contact Materials

SG 159/25

The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) is proposing to prohibit bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogues in food contact materials (FCMs) and articles.

In December 2024, the European Union (EU) issued Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 (the Regulation) on the use of BPA and other bisphenols and bisphenol derivatives with specific hazardous properties in certain FCMs and articles. The new law prohibits the use of BPA, its salts, other hazardous bisphenols and hazardous bisphenol derivatives in a range of FCMs and articles, including but not limited to epoxy resins used in metal food and drink cans, and durable plastics in reusable bottles. The Regulation entered into force in January 2025 and includes an 18-month transition period for most products to allow industry to adapt to the new requirements (SafeGuardS 5/25 and references therein). Under the Windsor Framework, this ban on BPA and other similar bisphenols also applies in Northern Ireland (NI) but not Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).

In the UK, the FSA emphasizes the importance of maintaining a high level of human health protection while ensuring regulatory consistency for businesses operating across both UK and EU markets. On October 2, 2025, they launched a 12-week consultation period on a proposed ban on the use of BPA and its analogues in FCMs and articles. The agency is proposing to adopt transitional periods and end dates aligned with those set out in the EU Regulation. Although some of the transitional period may have expired by the time the ban is implemented, it is expected that most businesses will already have reformulated their products, ensuring market compliance.

According to the announcement, the transitional measures are intended to, among other things:

• Establish consistency for businesses operating across Great Britain (GB), NI and EU markets
• Support circular economy goals by avoiding unnecessary disposal of stock that becomes non-compliant in the EU and NI but remains usable in GB
• Reduce administrative and financial burdens by preventing businesses from having to comply with two different sets of rules for identical or similar FCMs and articles

Comments will be accepted until December 24, 2025

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