On Sep. 2, 2021, China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) unveiled "GB 23350-2021 Requirements of Restricting Excessive Package—Foods and Cosmetics" in replacement of GB 23350-2009, intending to address the growing excessive packaging problem. The new GB standard will come into force on Sep. 1, 2023, allowing a two-year transitional period for stakeholders. 

Noteworthy Points Revealed in the New Standard 

1. The application scope is further clarified 

Compared with the current version, the new standard stipulates that it only applies to the sales package of foods and cosmetics, and stressed that foods and cosmetics used as gifts or not for sales purposes are excluded from the application scope. Besides, the new standard classifies foods and cosmetics into 31 and 16 categories respectively, setting detailed requirements and parameters, such as the necessary spatial coefficient, for the corresponding category.

2. The definitions and terms are further improved 

The new standard improves the definitions for some critical terms. For example, the definition of "excessive package" refers to "package that is beyond appropriate packaging function needs, and its package interspace ratio, package layers and package cost are beyond the necessary degree" in the current version. The new standard gives a more accurate definition, that is "package whose interspace ratio, package layers, and package cost exceed the requirements". In addition, several new terms and their definitions are introduced, such as "necessary spatial coefficient of commodity", to support more stringent packaging requirements for foods and cosmetics.

3. The requirements of product packaging are updated 

Unlike the current version, which divides the packaging requirements into basic requirements and quantitative limit requirements, the new version divides the requirements into three parts by three different indicators, namely, interspace ratio, package layers and cost. Any violation of these three indicators will be considered excessive packaging. As for the requirements of interspace ratio, the new version sets corresponding limits based on the net weight of a single commodity instead of the commodity category. For example, for foods or cosmetics with a net weight of 1ml or 1g, the interspace ratio shall not exceed 85% regardless of the category.

In addition, the new version provides more clear requirements for package layers of different categories of commodities, that is, the number of package layers for grain and processed grain products should not exceed three, and that for other commodities should not exceed four.

4. The testing method for products are newly added 

The new GB standard also adds a brand new part for the testing of commodities' packages, including testing principle, apparatus and tools, as well as three methods to measure the volume of packages: instrumental method, manual measurement and other method. With the introduction of these contents, a more standardized inspection system is proposed, which provides convenience for stakeholders to conduct self-check.

With the increasing pressure brought by China's ambitious goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060, as well as the rising environmental awareness of the public, packaging industry are bound to face a more stringent regulatory supervision and bear more responsibilities in the future. Given the two-year transitional period, stakeholders should take this opportunity to redesign the product packaging to meet the new requirements. While for the commodities that have already entered the distribution channels or in inventory, they shall be consumed as soon as possible before Sep. 1, 2023. Once the transitional period ends, it is not allowed to produce or sell foods and cosmetics that fail to conform to the new GB standard.

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