As state-level chemical restrictions expand and retailer documentation demands increase, packaging suppliers and CPGs face increasing pressures to substantiate food-contact safety claims. At Pack EXPO East, NSF introduced PD 525, a new certification protocol designed to help companies verify regulatory compliance, confirm chemical migration limits, and support claims such as PFAS-free or BPA-free.
Carmen Grindatti, Technical Scheme Lead at NSF, said growing consumer confusion about food-contact packaging safety was one of the driving forces for packaging safety verification.
According to BEUC survey findings, 70% of consumers are concerned about chemicals in food packaging.
NSF’s food packaging certification protocol is designed to verify regulatory compliance for food-contact materials, confirm safe levels of migrating chemicals via analytical testing, and to support claims for chemicals of concern.
The protocol is not intended to replace regulatory requirements for packaging.
Currently the scope of PD 525 includes certification for single-use primary and secondary packaging, and common packaging material categories.
“NSF does not write standards in a vacuum, as many people think,” Grindatti said. “Rather, NSF facilitates the creation and ongoing updates of public health standards and protocols by hosting committees that include representatives from manufacturers, public health regulators at local, state, and national levels, and end users of the product.”
Unlike traditional certification programs that bundle requirements into a single, all-or-nothing framework, NSF’s PD 525 takes a modular approach that allows companies to select the elements most relevant to their products and markets. Applicants may pursue one or more of three service tracks: regulatory compliance review, material safety testing, and chemicals of concern claims verification.
“This allows manufacturers and specifiers to decide and prioritize what aspects are most critical to them, depending on where and how their packaging products are used,” Grindatti said.
The regulatory compliance option involves a formulation review against applicable food-contact regulations in the intended market—primarily North America or Europe—with testing conducted as needed to confirm compliance.
The material safety testing track evaluates polymeric materials, as well as glass, ceramic, and non-coated metals, by exposing them to food simulants under defined time and temperature conditions and analyzing migration levels against established reference values.
The third option supports substantiation of claims such as BPA-free, PFAS-free, PVC-free, melamine-free, or free of heavy metals, across materials including plastics, paperboard, coatings, inks, wood, and cork.
By separating these components, the protocol gives manufacturers and CPGs flexibility to prioritize specific risks, regulatory jurisdictions, or retailer-driven requirements—an approach that aligns certification scope more closely with real-world use conditions and customer expectations.
