Regulation (EC) No 450/2009 · Annex II ·Applies since 19 December 2009

What an active or intelligent material declares to the business it is sold to

An active or intelligent material or article — one that extends the shelf-life of packaged food, or monitors its condition — must be accompanied by a written declaration of compliance at every marketing stage except retail. Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 450/2009 requires it; Annex II says what it contains — ten numbered points and no form. This free tool assembles those ten points in each of the 22 languages, in the Regulation's own wording. It does not test your material, and it does not decide whether it complies.

Which materials are covered

Three Regulations carry a declaration under Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, and they do not all work the same way. Two prescribe content — a numbered list of what the declaration must say, with no form to follow: Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 for plastics, and Regulation (EC) No 450/2009 for active and intelligent materials. The third prescribes a form — Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 for recycled plastic, whose Annex III is a template with numbered sections, boxes to tick and a signature block. This page is the second: a content list, not a form.

Plastic materials and articles are covered by Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, and its Annex IV declaration is on the food contact plastics page. Recycled plastic is covered by Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 in addition to 10/2011, and its Annex III declarations are on the recycled plastics page. This page is neither: it is for active and intelligent materials, which are defined by what they DO to the food or tell you about it, not by what they are made of. An active plastic sachet is in scope here AND under 10/2011.

What this page does not cover. Ceramics have their own specific measure (Directive 84/500/EEC) and regenerated cellulose film another (Directive 2007/42/EC), and neither prescribes the content of a declaration, so neither can be generated from the act's own words. Materials with no specific measure at all fall under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and have no prescribed declaration to print.

What the declaration is issued for

What Annex II requires

Annex II fixes the content and nothing else. Everything below is the Regulation's own wording with your answer beside it, in the order the annex prints it. The item marked as applying only in a stated case is not counted.

DECLARATION OF COMPLIANCE

The written declaration referred to in Article 12 shall contain the following information:

the identity and address of the business operator which issues the declaration of compliance;

the identity and address of the business operator which manufactures or imports the active and intelligent materials and articles, or the components intended for the manufacturing of those materials and articles, or the substances intended for the manufacturing of the components;

the identity of the active and intelligent materials and articles or the components intended for the manufacturing of those materials and articles, or the substances intended for the manufacturing of the components;

the date of the declaration;

the confirmation that the active or intelligent material or article complies with the relevant requirements laid down in this Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, and in specific Community measures applicable;

adequate information relative to the substances which constitute the components, for which restrictions are in place under the Community or national provisions applicable to food and this Regulation; where appropriate, specific purity criteria in accordance with the relevant Community legislation applicable to food and, the name and quantity of the substances released by the active component, to allow the downstream business operators to ensure compliance with those restrictions;

adequate information on the suitability and effectiveness of the active or intelligent material or article;

specifications on the use of the component, such as:

the group or groups of materials and articles in which the component may be added to or incorporated into;

the conditions of use necessary to achieving the intended effect;

specifications on the use of the material or article, such as:

the type or types of food intended to be put in contact with it;

the time and temperature of treatment and storage in contact with the food;

the ratio of food contact surface area to volume used to establish the compliance of the material or article;

when a functional barrier is used, the confirmation that the active or intelligent material or article complies with Article 10 of this Regulation.

The written declaration shall permit an easy identification of the active and intelligent materials and articles or the component or the substance for which it is issued and shall be renewed when substantial changes in the production bring about changes in the migration or when new scientific data are available.

The declaration

Annex II prescribes content, not a form. Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 requires the written declaration and says nothing about what it looks like; this Regulation's Annex II lists ten things it must contain, two of them with sub-items. So there is no model to reproduce here: no numbered boxes, no unique identification code, no signature block, no notified body and no CE marking — the CE marking does not exist in food-contact law. What you produce below is a document carrying ten pieces of information, and its layout is yours.

One point is conditional, in the act's own words. Point 10 applies when a functional barrier is used. Points 8 and 9 introduce their sub-items with “such as”, so those are examples rather than a closed list. Leaving point 10 empty when no functional barrier is used is correct, and the counter beside the document does not count it.

The renewal duty is inside the annex, not in an article, and it is the last thing Annex II says. The written declaration must permit easy identification of what it is issued for, and must be RENEWED when substantial changes in the production bring about changes in the migration, or when new scientific data are available. It is printed at the end of the document below because that is where the annex puts it.

What is not here. Article 11 requires the business operator to hold documentation showing that the material or article and its components meet the requirements — the experiments, calculations and evidence behind what you declare — available to the competent authority on request. That is a separate obligation from this document, and no generator can produce it: it is your test data.