Ahead of Plastics & Paper in Contact with Foodstuffs 2025, we spoke to Job Ridderbecks, Subject Matter Expert Food Contact Materials at FoodChain ID.
The interview provides a sneak peek of what you can expect from the conference taking place in Amsterdam on 8-10 December 2025.
Q: Your presentation is titled “How to Ensure Safe & Compliant Food Packaging”. This seems a very broad topic considering the variety in types of materials and their associated regulations, can you share some insights in what you will discuss?
A: Instead of looking at highly specific and technical rules, that are of course unique for each industry, I will take a step back and look at what is actually needed to fulfill those highly technical rules. Specifically due to the fact that the regulations are so technical, businesses often struggle with, or completely overlook, how engrained these principles need to be in an organization, instead of having them sit with just R&D or QA staff.
Q: What is, in your opinion, the biggest issue or gap when it comes to food contact compliance in general?
A:The fact that every operator in the supply chain issues a Declaration of Compliance in which they claim their material or article is compliant to the relevant regulations, but that the value of that document is not always the same. Knowledge and awareness, and with that the quality of the compliance work that is done to support a DoC, varies depending on who you ask. In my presentation I will focus on the key responsibilities that everyone has. I will outline what the compliance assessment process should look like, independent of the specific technical rules that apply.
Q: Can third party auditing play a role in improving the quality of Declarations of Compliance?
A: In theory, yes. It will require a shift in focus from “spot-checking” Declarations of Compliance, supporting documentation and test reports that we see today, to a more comprehensive review of how regulatory compliance is incorporated in a production process. FoodChain ID intends to cover exactly those gaps with its PackSafe Standard, laying down an auditable compliance assessment methodology. In my presentation, I will discuss those principles and how they cover topics that are not addressed by current certifications based on ISO quality standards or GFSI.
Hear Job's presentation at 4:35pm on 9 December at P&P 2025 in Amsterdam.
