COUNCIL OF EUROPE
COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
Resolution ResAP(2004)2
on cork stoppers and other cork materials and
articles intended to come into contact with
foodstuffs
(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 1
December 2004
at the 907th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)
The Committee of Ministers, in its composition
restricted to the Representatives of the States
members of the Partial Agreement in the Social and
Public Health Field,1
Recalling Resolution No. R (59) 23 of 16 November
1959 concerning the extension of the activities of
the Council of Europe in the social and cultural
fields;
Having regard to Resolution No. R (96) 35 of 2
October 1996, whereby it revised the structures of
the Partial Agreement and resolved to continue, on
the basis of revised rules replacing those set out
in Resolution No. R (59) 23, the activities hitherto
carried out and developed by virtue of that
resolution; these being aimed in particular at:
a. raising the level of health protection
of consumers in its widest application: constant
contribution to harmonising – in the field of
products having a direct or indirect impact on the
human food chain as well as in the field of
pesticides, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics –
legislation, regulations and practices governing, on
the one hand, quality, efficiency and safety
controls for products and, on the other hand, the
safe use of toxic or noxious products;
b. integrating people with disabilities
into the community: defining – and contributing to
its implementation at European level –a model
coherent policy for people with disabilities, which
takes account simultaneously of the principles of
full citizenship and independent living;
contributing to the elimination of barriers to
integration, whatever their nature, whether
psychological, educational, family-related,
cultural, social, professional, financial or
architectural;
Having regard to the action carried out for
several years for the purposes of harmonising
legislation in the public health field and, in
particular, with regard to materials and articles
intended to come into contact with foodstuffs;
Considering that cork stoppers and other cork
materials and articles intended to come into contact
with foodstuffs may, by reason of the migration of
their components to the foodstuffs, pose in certain
conditions a risk to human health;
Taking the view that each member state, faced
with the need to introduce regulations governing
this matter, would find it beneficial to harmonise
such regulations at European level,
Recommends to the governments of the States
members of the Partial Agreement in the Social and
Public Health Field to take into account in their
national laws and regulations on cork stoppers and
other cork materials and articles intended to come
into contact with foodstuffs the principles set out
hereafter.
Appendix to Resolution ResAP(2004)2
on cork stoppers and other cork materials and
articles intended to come into contact with
foodstuffs
1. Field of application
1.1. Resolution ResAP(2004)2 applies only to the
cork part of cork stoppers and any other cork
materials or articles whose main component is
manufactured cork which, in the finished product
state, is intended to come into contact with or is
placed in contact with foodstuffs.
1.2. Plastic capsules or any other materials such
as glass or metal are excluded from the field of
application.
2. Definition
2.1. The definitions of ISO 633 concerning cork
apply to the Resolution.
2.2. Cork stoppers or the cork part of stoppers
should contain at least 51% of manufactured cork
w/w.
2.3. The cork part of cork stoppers can be made
of a whole piece or two or more pieces of cork or
granulated cork which are bound together by means of
glues, adhesives or by any other means.
3. Specifications
Cork used for food contact applications under
normal or foreseeable conditions of use should meet
the following conditions:
3.1. it should not transfer its constituents to
foodstuffs in quantities which could endanger human
health or bring about an unacceptable change in the
composition of the foodstuffs or deterioration in
the organoleptic characteristics thereof;
3.2. cork stoppers should be manufactured in
accordance with the International Code of Cork
Stoppers Manufacturing Practice, drawn up by the
European Cork Federation (C.E. Liège), using the
substances of “Technical document No. 1 – List of
substances to be used in the manufacture of cork
stoppers and other cork materials and articles
intended to come into contact with foodstuffs”
and according to the conditions specified;
3.3. silicones used should comply with Resolution
ResAP(2004)5 on silicones used for food contact
applications;
3.4. any other constituent than cork and not
included in “Technical document No. 1 – List of
substances to be used in the manufacture of cork
stoppers and other cork materials and articles
intended to come into contact with foodstuffs”
should comply with corresponding European Union
Directives, if any, and Article 2 of Directive
89/109/EEC and its future amendments;
3.5. additives used on the surface of cork stoppers
or other cork materials and articles, such as
paraffin and wax, should comply with European Union
Directives on food additives, if any;
3.6. brand printing by hot stamp or with
authorised pigments is authorised;
3.7. colorants or pigments of inks used for printing
surfaces of cork stoppers and those used in the cork
stoppers’ treatment should be edible colorants or
pigments and be in compliance with European Union
regulations for foodstuffs;
3.8. any other colorants and pigments should
comply with the restrictions set in “Technical
document No. 1 –List of substances to be used in the
manufacture of cork stoppers and other cork
materials and articles intended to come into contact
with foodstuffs”;
3.9. cork stoppers and other cork materials and
articles intended to come into contact with
foodstuffs should comply with the following
restriction limits and with either the QMA2
or SML3
restrictions laid down in “Technical document No.
1 – List of substances to be used in the manufacture
of cork stoppers and other cork materials and
articles intended to come into contact with
foodstuffs”;
3.9.1. restriction limits for Pentachlorophenol
as contaminant:
– residues in cork as QMA limit: 0.15
mg/kg cork
– migration into simulant: 150 ng/kg or l
3.9.2. restriction limit for Trichlorophenols as
contaminant:
migration into simulant: 2,000 ng/kg or l
3.10. verification of compliance with the
quantitative restrictions should to be carried out
according to the conditions laid down in “Technical
document No. 2 – Test conditions and methods of
analysis for cork stoppers and other cork materials
and articles intended to come into contact with
foodstuffs”;
3.11. migration tests should be conducted
according to ISO 10.106 standards on cork articles;
3.12. Directives 82/711/EEC, 85/572/EEC,
93/8/EEC, 97/48/EEC, 2002/72/EEC and their future
amendments should be applied, as appropriate, unless
technically impracticable due to the nature of the
material and the migration tests;
3.13. if more severe methods of analysis prove
that the limit of maximum migrations are fulfilled
then no migration tests will be required;
3.14. cork stoppers or cork articles used as
agricultural products should comply with Article 2.i
of Directive 98/8/EC concerning the placing of
biocidal products on the market, and future
amendments. The migration of residues of pesticides
into foodstuffs should comply with European Union
Directives on foodstuffs;
3.15. cork should not contain any fungi or yeast
that could produce any microbiological
contamination, which poses a risk to human health or
could cause unacceptable changes in the foodstuffs
which are in contact with the cork articles;
3.16. the residues of mycotoxins in cork should
comply with the limits of European Union Directives
for agricultural products and the migrations of
these toxins to the foodstuffs should comply with
the specific limits established in these directives
for them.
References
ISO 10106 Cork stoppers - Determination of global
migration.
ISO 10718 Cork stoppers - Enumeration of
colony-forming units of yeasts, moulds and bacteria
capable of growth in an alcoholic medium.
ISO 633. ISO 2569 - Vocabulary of cork.
Council Directive of 18 October 1982 laying down
the basic rules necessary for testing migration of
the constituents of plastic materials and articles
intended to come into contact with foodstuffs
(82/711/EEC)
(Official Journal of the European Communities
L297/26, 23.10.82).
Council Directive of 19 December 1985 laying down
the list of simulants to be used for testing
migration of constituents of plastic materials and
articles intended to come into contact with
foodstuffs (85/572/EEC)
(Official Journal of the European Communities
L372/14, 31.12.85).
Commission Directive 93/8/EEC of 15 March 1993
amending Council Directive 82/711/EEC laying down
the basic rules necessary for testing migration of
constituents of plastic materials and articles
intended to come into contact with foodstuffs
(97/48/CE) (Official Journal L 090 , 14.04.1993 P.
0022 – 0025).
Commission Directive of 29 July 1997 amending for
the second time Council Directive 82/711/EEC laying
down the basic rules necessary for testing migration
of the constituents of plastic materials and
articles intended to come into contact with
foodstuffs (97/48/EC) (Official Journal of the
European Communities L222/10, 12.08.97).
Commission Directive 2002/72/EC of 6 August 2002
relating to plastic materials and articles intended
to come into contact with foodstuffs (Official
Journal L 220, 15.08.2002 P. 0018 – 0058).
Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the
placing of biocidal products on the market (Official
Journal L 123, 24.04.1998 P. 0001 – 0063).
