Overview
- The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation went into general application on Wednesday 12 August 2026 and Germany’s implementing law from 17 July 2026 also took effect, making new obligations legally binding for companies.
- From the application date food-contact packaging newly placed on the market must meet tight PFAS limits set by the PPWR: 25 ppb for single identifiable compounds, 250 ppb for the sum of identifiable compounds, and a 50 ppm cap on total fluorine.
- Producers, importers and traders must carry out conformity assessment procedures, compile technical documentation and issue EU conformity declarations while registration, system participation and reporting duties continue to apply to more actors including certain imports and online sellers.
- Consumers should not expect dramatic shelf changes immediately because many visible measures are phased in later, for example empty-space limits from 12 February 2028, EU material pictograms at the earliest on 12 August 2028, and weight/volume rules under Article 10 from 1 January 2030.
- Officials say the rules aim to reduce PFAS exposure and raise recycling but industry faces higher testing, record-keeping and redesign costs that could shift along supply chains and affect prices over time, with enforcement relying on documentation and market surveillance rather than a new consumer seal.