Important news regarding printing inks in Switzerland. Swiss ordinance 817.023.21 on materials and articles will be updated as of February 1, 2024, with an amendment from the 8th of December 2023.

A grip of the changes:

• Part B list (containing unevaluated substances) of the positive list in Annex 10 (Packaging Inks) will be deleted. This means that only part A (evaluated substance) will remain.
• A new table will be introduced in Annex 10, and this will contain a list of materials/elements mirroring that in Annex II of the plastic regulation (EU) No.10/2011. In same way as the plastic regulation, the salts of substances (for which ‘yes’ is indicated in column 2 in Table 3) of authorized acids, phenols, and alcohols may also be used subject to any applicable restrictions.
• In Switzerland will be required a declaration of compliance for substances used in the manufacture of printing inks, the printing inks themselves, and printed FCMs at marketing stages other than the retail stage.
• The overall aim of the provision is to align Swiss legislation more with the EU. It will align the provisions on plastics with the 15th amendment (Regulation (EU) 2020/1245) to the EU’s Plastics Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011. It updates also the provisions applicable to recycled plastics.
• The ordinance will make sure that materials in contact with drinking water follow a different Ordinance (No. 817.022.11) than FCMs. This will help the control and evaluation procedures for materials in contact with drinking water.

The updated text entered into force on the 1st of February 2024, but there are also going to be some transitional provisions. FCMs that are not compliant with articles 35-35b introduced by the amendment of December 8, 2023, may be imported, manufactured, and labelled in accordance with pre-existing law until January 31, 2025.

IBE-BVI members can obtained the Swiss ordinance and the new annexes via simple request. Click here.