Do You Offer Food-Grade and RoHS Compliant Packaging Materials for Export?

For international brands distributing packaged goods across multiple regulatory jurisdictions, material compliance is not a marketing feature — it is a non-negotiable condition of market access. A cosmetic box sold in Berlin must satisfy EU CosIng and LFGB standards; the same box sold in Los Angeles falls under FDA 21 CFR; in Melbourne, it faces Australian AS 2070 requirements; and in Dubai, it must align with GSO food-contact regulations. The complexity multiplies when you consider that compliance applies not just to the paper substrate, but to every ink, adhesive, coating, and finishing layer that contacts the product or its immediate environment.

If you are sourcing custom packaging from China and need certainty that your materials will clear customs in your target markets without regulatory challenges, this guide provides a clear framework for evaluating supplier compliance capabilities — and explains how a specialist like Packshion delivers documentation you can trust.

Comprehensive Certification Coverage: Paper, Inks, and Coatings

Packaging material compliance is a chain that is only as strong as its weakest link. A food-grade paper substrate paired with non-compliant ink or adhesive still fails regulatory scrutiny. Here is how we ensure full-chain compliance across every material component:

Paper and Board Substrates — Food-Grade Certifications

Our food-contact paper and board materials are certified to the following standards, depending on your target market:

• FDA 21 CFR Part 176.170 (USA): Governs paper and paperboard intended for contact with aqueous and fatty foods. Our FDA-compliant materials are tested to verify that no substances migrate into food at levels that exceed permissible limits under intended conditions of use. This is the mandatory standard for any food packaging entering the United States market.

• EU Framework Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 (European Union): The overarching EU legislation covering all food contact materials. It requires that materials do not transfer their constituents into food in quantities that could endanger human health, change food composition, or deteriorate taste and odor. Our EU-compliant materials meet this framework requirement, with supporting documentation for specific Member State implementations (such as Germany's LFGB and France's DGCCRF).

• LFGB (Germany — Article 30 and 31): The German Food, Feed and Consumer Goods Code, widely recognized as one of the most rigorous food-contact standards globally. LFGB testing includes sensory evaluation (taste and odor transfer) in addition to chemical migration analysis, making it more comprehensive than many other national standards. An LFGB certificate is often accepted as evidence of compliance by multiple EU member states and several non-EU markets.

• Australian Standard AS 2070 (Australia): Governs plastics and paper materials for food contact use in the Australian and New Zealand markets. Our AS 2070-compliant materials are tested to verify migration limits align with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) requirements.

• GSO Standards (Gulf Cooperation Council / Middle East): For brands exporting to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, we provide materials aligned with GSO technical regulations for food-contact paper and board. These standards draw substantially from EU and international benchmarks, and our experience with EU-compliant materials allows us to support Middle East market entry efficiently.

• GB 4806 Series (China): For brands manufacturing or distributing within China, our materials comply with the GB 4806 series governing food-contact paper, paperboard, and coatings under China's national food safety framework.

Printing Inks and Coatings — Low-Migration and Food-Safe Formulations

The inks and coatings applied to food-contact packaging are subject to the same regulatory scrutiny as the paper substrate itself. Standard printing inks contain components — photoinitiators, mineral oils, plasticizers — that can migrate through the paperboard and contaminate the packaged food product, particularly under conditions of heat, humidity, or extended shelf storage.

We address this through material selection: for food-contact applications, we use low-migration ink systems specifically formulated for indirect food contact. These inks are designed to cure completely during the printing process, leaving minimal residual monomer or oligomer content that could migrate into food. Post-curing UV treatment further reduces migration potential. For the most sensitive applications — direct food contact or high-temperature packaging — we can specify food-grade certified inks supported by compositional compliance statements and migration test data from accredited laboratories.

Adhesives and Coatings — Full-Chain Compliance

Adhesives used in box construction, lamination films, and aqueous or UV coatings must also be assessed for food-contact safety. We source these materials from suppliers who provide compositional disclosure and migration compliance documentation. For food-grade orders, we ensure that every adhesive, primer, and coating layer in the packaging structure is suitable for its intended use — whether that is dry, aqueous, or fatty food contact — and we document this compliance in your certification package.

RoHS Compliance for Electronics and General Merchandise Packaging

For packaging accompanying electronic products, toys, or general consumer goods entering the EU market, RoHS compliance extends to the packaging itself — not just the product inside. Our RoHS-compliant materials cover the full packaging structure: paper and board substrates certified free of restricted heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium) above threshold limits, printing inks and pigments formulated without restricted phthalates or brominated flame retardants, and adhesives and coatings compliant with RoHS substance restrictions. Compliance is verified through accredited third-party testing (SGS, Intertek, TÜV, or equivalent), and test reports are provided as part of your order documentation package.

How to Obtain Official Certification Documents for Customs Clearance

One of the most common pain points for importers is the gap between a supplier's verbal assurance of compliance and the documented evidence required by customs authorities. At Packshion, we close this gap through a systematic, documented certification process:

Step 1: Specify Your Target Market Requirements at the Inquiry Stage

When you submit your packaging inquiry, tell us your destination market(s). Different markets require different documentation sets: FDA compliance letters for the USA, EU Declaration of Conformity plus LFGB test reports for Germany, AS 2070 certification for Australia, or GSO compliance statements for the Middle East. We map your requirements to the appropriate certification framework before production begins, ensuring no last-minute documentation gaps.

Step 2: Material Procurement with Compliance Verification

We procure paper, ink, adhesive, and coating materials only from suppliers who provide current, accredited third-party compliance documentation. Each incoming material batch is verified against its certification documentation before release to production. This verification is recorded in our material traceability system, linking every production order to the specific material lots and their associated certifications.

Step 3: Production Under ISO 9001 Certified Process Control

Your packaging is produced under our ISO 9001 certified quality management system, ensuring that the compliant materials specified in your order are the exact materials used in your production — no unauthorized substitutions. Our batch traceability system records every material lot number against your order, creating a complete audit trail from raw material intake to finished product dispatch.

Step 4: Compilation of Your Certification Documentation Package

Once production is complete, we compile your order-specific certification documentation package, which typically includes: third-party test reports for each regulated material component (paper, ink, adhesive, coating), a Product Compliance Statement summarizing the applicable standards and confirming compliance, an EU Declaration of Conformity (for shipments to EU member states), FDA compliance letters (for shipments to the USA), FSC chain-of-custody certification documents (if applicable), and ISO 9001 certificate demonstrating quality management system oversight.

This complete package is delivered to you in both printed hard copy (shipped with your goods for customs inspection) and digital PDF format (emailed for your internal records and advance submission to customs brokers). For clients with recurring orders, we maintain an active compliance database and proactively update documentation as certifications renew, so your subsequent shipments are supported by current, valid documentation without requiring repeated requests.

A Practical Note on Non-Eco-Friendly Materials

While we strongly advocate for sustainable, biodegradable, and food-grade materials, we also recognize that not every packaging application requires certification to the highest environmental or food-contact standards. For certain applications where compliance requirements differ, we offer non-certified material options where functionally appropriate.

Examples include: non-food-contact structural packaging (outer shippers, internal dividers, display stands) where standard-grade kraft or corrugated board is functionally sufficient and cost-optimized; industrial and B2B packaging where the end user is not a consumer and regulatory requirements differ; short-term promotional or event packaging with limited shelf life and controlled distribution; and certain non-food gift packaging where the packaged product is inherently separated from the packaging by an additional protective layer.

In all such cases, we clearly label material specifications in our quotations and production documentation, ensuring that you always know exactly what you are purchasing and can make informed decisions aligned with your regulatory obligations and brand standards. We never substitute non-compliant materials into a food-grade or RoHS-compliant order without your explicit knowledge and approval. Our commitment is to transparency — you choose the material grade appropriate for your application, and we deliver exactly what is specified, every time.