On September 7, 2020, regulatory news provider Chemical Watch reported on a draft standard released by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that would align its standards for polyethylene bags for food packaging applications with those previously set in the EU. The standard would allow only additives and monomers included under EU Directive EC/72/2002, and it also would ban the use of recycled materials in the bags. In 2011, the EC/72/2002 Directive has, however, been replaced by Regulation No 10/2011 and is therefore invalid in the EU.
Standards set by the GCC would be applied to all countries within the trade bloc including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The draft is open for public comment until November 2, 2020.
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GCC (September 2020). “Polyethylene bags for food packaging applications.”
Chemical Watch (September 7, 2020). “Gulf countries to align standards for plastic bags in food packaging with EU.”
Keller and Heckman LLP (September 29, 2020). “Gulf States Request Comments on Draft Standard for Food Packaging Polyethylene Bags.”
