Have you recently come across seaweed-based food packaging? Or maybe another type of novel food contact article made from fungi or recycled agricultural waste? While innovative products can bring new opportunities, they still need to protect health.

Food contact materials (FCMs) play an essential role in today’s food system. As new materials emerge to meet sustainability goals, the question of what counts as novel and how to assess safety becomes increasingly important.

Novel FCMs may use new chemistries, bio-based polymers, recycled inputs, or smart packaging functions, but they still need to adhere to the same core principle: materials should not transfer chemicals or particles into food in amounts that could endanger human health or alter the food’s composition.