On June 26, 2026, the European Commission published the 2025 Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) Annual Report. The report shows that the ACN recorded a total of 10,490 notifications in 2025, an 11% increase compared to the previous year. In the Food Contact Materials (FCM) sector, 250 notifications were recorded in 2025, accounting for 2.8% of total ACN notifications. Among these, 68.8% involved health risks, and 8% involved potential fraud. CIRS Group provides the following analysis of this report.
Background
ACN (Alert and Cooperation Network) is an official framework led by the European Commission, designed to enable rapid exchange of food safety and compliance information among member state authorities, and to coordinate cross-border investigations and response measures. Since March 2021, several specialized networks have been integrated into a unified ACN, including RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed), AAC (Administrative Assistance and Cooperation Network), FFN (Food Fraud Network), among others. The European Commission serves as the manager of the ACN, primarily providing technical support to members through the iRASFF IT platform to enable real-time exchange of notifications.
FCM Sector Notifications
The report indicates that kitchen utensils and tableware are the most concentrated categories of concern, accounting for as much as 56%, followed by baking products (10%), packaging materials (8%), and silicone products (8%).
From the perspective of problem categories, over 50% of issues are related to migration hazards: primary aromatic amines account for 14%, while formaldehyde and volatile organic components each account for approximately 7%. Additionally, traceability defects (>7.5%), sensory changes, labeling defects, melamine, and material aging (each approximately 5%), and lead (4%) are also common issues.
The remaining 41% in the "Others" category covers a broad range of risks, including unauthorized use of plant-based ingredients such as bamboo, foreign matter, as well as metal migration of aluminum, cadmium, chromium, manganese, arsenic, cobalt, barium, and lithium. It also involves chemical contaminants such as PFAS, mineral oil, and benzophenone.
Typical Case
The report specifically mentions a cross-border risk case: On August 4, 2025, Slovenia notified that decorative enamel cups produced in China posed heavy metal migration risks including lead, aluminum, nickel, barium, manganese, and cobalt, constituting a serious hazard to consumers. This product was distributed through the United Kingdom to over 20 European countries, triggering large-scale product withdrawal, destruction, and detention actions. Subsequent verification confirmed that certain variants (such as those with white inner walls) met safety requirements.
ChemRadar Insights
Enterprises should systematically review migration test reports for raw materials used in Food Contact Materials (FCM), with particular attention to high-risk categories such as kitchen utensils, baking equipment, and silicone products; simultaneously conduct comprehensive compliance checks of product labeling, and establish and improve batch traceability management systems to ensure that production records, inspection data, and circulation information are complete, accurate, and verifiable, thereby effectively responding to cross-border regulatory investigations and notification requirements.
