About Packaging Laws and Regulations
- The new national standard sets clear limits on packaging void ratio, packaging layers and packaging cost for 31 food categories and 16 cosmetic categories, and non-compliant products may not be produced, sold or imported.
- Express packaging must also comply with mandatory national standards such as GB 45186-2024 Requirements for Limiting Excessive Express Packaging and GB 43352-2023 Limits of Heavy Metals and Certain Substances in Express Packaging, and express delivery companies must optimize packaging methods and economize on packaging materials.
- Quantitatively packaged commodities such as bagged rice and flour and bottled beverages must correctly indicate quantitative net content, and the difference between indicated and actual content must not exceed the permitted shortfall.
- Product packaging must carry a certificate of product quality inspection and indicate in Chinese the product name, manufacturer's name and manufacturer's address; products with a limited period of use must also clearly indicate the production date and safe use period or expiry date in a prominent position.
- Failure to correctly mark net content will be ordered to be corrected by market regulation authorities; failure to mark net content at all requires correction within a time limit and a fine of up to RMB 30,000; falsifying inspection data can be fined up to RMB 100,000, and products violating mandatory excessive-packaging standards may not be produced, sold or imported.
Packaging laws and regulations mainly involve restrictions on excessive packaging, labeling and marking rules, metrology management and green transformation requirements. The specific provisions applicable to different products and scenarios vary. The core is to label compliantly, avoid excessive packaging and comply with mandatory standards.
Which packaging is prone to pitfalls
Food and cosmetics are key targets of supervision, and the new national standard sets clear limits on the packaging void ratio, number of packaging layers and packaging cost for 31 categories of food and 16 categories of cosmetics; products that do not meet the standard are not allowed to be produced, sold or imported. Express packaging must also comply with mandatory national standards, such as the Requirements for Limiting Excessive Express Packaging (GB 45186-2024) and the Limits of Heavy Metals and Certain Substances in Express Packaging (GB 43352-2023); express delivery companies must optimize packaging methods and economize on the use of packaging materials. Quantitatively packaged commodities (such as bagged rice and flour and bottled beverages) must correctly indicate the quantitative net content, and the difference between the indicated and actual content must not exceed the permitted shortfall.
What must be clearly stated on packaging
Product packaging must carry a certificate of product quality inspection, and indicate in Chinese the product name, the manufacturer's name and the manufacturer's address. Products with a limited period of use (such as food and cosmetics) must clearly indicate the production date and the safe use period or expiry date in a prominent position. The net content marking consists of three parts: the Chinese words "net content," the figure and the legal unit of measurement, and the character height must also comply with regulations. Special products such as hazardous chemicals and pharmaceuticals have additional packaging material and labeling requirements, and must be produced by designated production enterprises and pass testing.
What happens if you violate the rules
Those who fail to correctly mark net content will be ordered by the market regulation authorities to make corrections; those who do not mark it at all must make corrections within a time limit and face a fine of up to RMB 30,000. Those who violate mandatory standards on excessive packaging will be investigated and dealt with in accordance with laws and regulations, and the products are not allowed to be produced, sold or imported. Those who falsify inspection data may be fined up to RMB 100,000. Those who use the unique packaging of a well-known commodity without authorization and cause confusion violate the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and also bear legal liability.
——This article is reprinted from the China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-379840.html
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