On September 2, 2021, the Requirements of Restricting Excessive Package-Foods and Cosmetic (hereinafter referred to as “the Requirements” GB 23350-2021) is a revision for the national standard GB 23350-2009 that was issued by State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and Standardization Administration of China (SAC).
The Requirements is a national mandatory standard that was developed for the purpose of controlling excessive packaging. The goal is to protect consumer rights and reduce environmental pollution caused by the unnecessary packings.
The first version of the Requirements was published in 2009. In its latest version, the critical contents are summarized as follows:
1. Cover an administrative scope of 31 kinds of foods and 16 types of cosmetics.
2. Strictly regulate the number of layers allowed for different product categories.
3. Modify the definition of several technical terms and add in a new definition term called “multiple products” to regulate packing requirements for gift boxes with various types of products.
4. Change the calculation measures for critical parameters such as interspace ratio
5. Specify necessary spatial coefficient of commodity for different goods.
The new version of the standard still requires all packing costs, unless in direct contact with the product, not exceed 20% of the selling price.It will be rolled out in September of 2023, leaving a 2-year transition period for all manufacturers and enterprises involved
With the announcement of the new standard version, related MNCs and foreign manufactures are suggested to start a transition process if current products do not comply with the Requirements. The SAMR also stated that more training or interpretations on the Requirements will be organized to help relevant parties, so MNCs who have already entered the Chinese market should follow-up on such information and participate in the courses to fit in.
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