Minutes of the FCMJEG 3rd December 2025 meeting

Joint Expert Group on Food Contact Materials (JEGFCM)  

Meeting of the FCMJEG at 10:00 on 3^rd December 2025 at 64 Victoria Street, London and Virtual via Microsoft Teams 

Meeting Minutes 

Present

Contents    

Item 1: Welcome and Apologies     

1. The Chair formally welcomed all attendees to the meeting. The Chair welcomed Dr. Natalia Falagán on her return from extended leave. Apologies were received from Dr Sara Beverley.

Item 2: Declaration(s) of Interest   

2. The Chair reminded those attending the meeting to declare any commercial or other interests they might have for any of the agenda items to be discussed. It is necessary to declare interests, as per the Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees (SAC) and Councils (CoPSAC, 2021). Members should ask themselves whether the public would reasonably consider that the interest in question might influence them (and thus their perceived independence).  
3. Dr Michael Walker confirmed a non-personal specific interest for Item 5, stating that he had received an email invitation to visit a WRAP institution in Belfast. However, the visit to the site took place in 2023. The Secretariat were informed at the time, and no further direct contact took place although WRAP had sent a copy of the challenge test for polyolefins project report by email. Dr Emma Bradley declared a non-personal specific interest, noting that she had contributed to a grant proposal submitted to Innovate UK, which was ultimately unsuccessful. These Members were allowed to participate in the discussions of this item.
4. Dr Emma Bradley declared a non-personal specific interest for Item 9 on the agenda, whereby her employer was the contract research organisation (CRO) that completed analytical testing for the Applicant. Due to her position, she reviewed the studies as part of quality assurance. She was therefore excluded from the discussion. 
5. Dr Malcolm Driffield declared a non-personal specific interest for Item 9 on the agenda, whereby his employer was the contract research organisation (CRO) that worked with the Applicant early on in their development process. He was therefore excluded from the discussion. 

Item 3: Matters arising   

6. The dossier update table showing the overall progress of all FCM dossiers was presented to the FCMJEG Members. More detailed updates on a number of dossiers were provided by the Secretariat.  

7. Members noted recent media coverage concerning the ability of some recycling businesses to place products on the GB market. It was clarified that businesses which have not yet completed the registration or audit process may be affected until these steps are finalised. Policy teams are aware of the situation and are working to ensure that audits are carried out in a timely manner.

Item 4: Minutes of the last meeting  

8. The FCMJEG suggested minor editorial changes in paragraph 3. In item 7 it was stated Dr Malcolm Driffield declared a personal specific interest for item 7, but the outcome of this was not confirmed in the minutes. The Group asked for the public minutes to state that he was excluded from the discussion of the item.
9. Members requested that the Secretariat clearly indicate when meetings are cancelled in the public meeting minutes to prevent assumptions that minutes are missing. It was also suggested that reasons for cancellations are provided on the FCMJEG website. 

Item 5: Polyolefin recycling discussion

10. The FCMJEG considered two documents provided by an external organisation: a project report on the development of a challenge test for polyolefins, and accompanying Guidance for industry evaluating the performance of polyolefin decontamination processes for contact sensitive applications.
11. Members noted that the data supplied within the documents was relevant for understanding contamination, occurrence and concentration levels of polyolefins.
12. The FCMJEG’s observations are to be considered when the documents are finalised, and the documents will be shared with EFSA and may feed into the guidance on polyolefin recycling. 

Item 6: SPS update and discussion

13.  Background information and updates on the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement were provided by A member of the SPS team.
14. Members were informed that if they had any further queries on the SPS agreement they could contact the FSA via email.

Item 7: Feedback from SAC Chair’s meeting

15. A general update from the SAC Chair’s meeting was provided by Dr. Jenny Odum, and it was noted that there had been engagement with regulatory counterparts in Canada.
16. It was announced that the new FSA office is located at 64 Victoria Street, London.
17.  The Group were informed that there is ongoing work on the declaration of interest guidance, and that there was discussion of media training, which was primarily targeted at Members of COT.
18. Final updates from the SAC Chair’s meeting were that there were discussions on ongoing and future dossiers, competent authority audits and a reflection from the Chair.
19. The next SAC Chair’s meeting will be held in March or April 2026.

Item 8: Any other business

20. Members were informed that the meeting will be the last with the current Secretariat support team member, and that Secretariat support will transition to another colleague in 2026.
21. The Group were informed that the first in-person audit of a recycling company was completed, and once all follow-ups and questions have been resolved then the application can be considered complete as agreed with No. 10.
22. FSA colleagues expressed their thanks to FCMJEG Members for the work input on this application, and it was noted that a written letter will be sent to No. 10 to confirm the deadline has been met.
23. Members were notified that the Chair’s lead rota is due to be updated. It was confirmed that the majority of meetings in 2026 will be virtual, and if the budget allows there will be at least one in person meeting.

Item 9: Review of the draft Committee Advice Document (CAD) for a polymer (RP2263) - FCMJEG/2025/21

24. The FCMJEG reviewed the first draft of the RP2263 (Agar palmitate) CAD and suggested minor revisions to the document. 

Date of next meeting     

25. The next meeting will be on the 25^th February 2026. This will be a virtual meeting on Microsoft Teams. 
26. N.b. The meeting of the 1^st of October was cancelled due to insufficient agenda items.