In recent years, some food and cosmetics companies have over-packaged their products and passed on the costs to consumers. This phenomenon of "buying gifts and returning pearls" not only wastes resources, but also increases the burden on consumers, and even pollutes the environment, which is not conducive to the healthy development of market economy.
To this end, the General Administration of Market Supervision recently revised and issued the mandatory national standard "Restricting over-packaging of commodities requires food and cosmetics", which is committed to reducing resource consumption and packaging waste from the source.
The "Rule of Law Daily" reporter learned that the new standard regulates the packaging requirements of 31 kinds of food and 16 kinds of cosmetics; It greatly simplifies the method of judging the over-packaging of goods. Consumers only need to look at the weight or volume of the goods themselves and measure the volume of the outermost packaging, and can preliminarily judge whether there is an over-packaging problem in the goods through calculation. Strictly limit the number of packaging layers, and stipulate that the grain and its processed products in food should not exceed three layers of packaging, and other foods and cosmetics should not exceed four layers of packaging.
Excessive packaging attracts attention.
Revision and implementation of national standards
The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, and all kinds of moon cakes are on the market like a flood. People are amazed at the innovative taste of moon cakes, but also complain about the "fine moon cakes" packaged like dolls on the shelves. Especially the "sky-high-priced moon cakes" that have become popular in recent two years, each moon cake costing 2 yuan money has been made into holiday hard currency. Some moon cake gift boxes have high-grade silk scarves, and some have given away two Huawei mobile phones, so that it is not surprising that the price exceeds 50,000 yuan.
When will the phenomenon of over-packaging, luxury packaging and "rafters" be more expensive than pearls? On September 2nd, in order to solve the problem of over-packaging of food and cosmetics, the General Administration of Market Supervision (Standards Committee), together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments, organized relevant standardization technical committees and technical institutions to revise the 2009 version of the standards, and formulated and issued a new mandatory national standard "Food and Cosmetics with Restrictions on Over-packaging of Commodities", which will be implemented in September 2023.
Considering that after the release of the new standard, food and cosmetics manufacturers need to design the product packaging compliance according to the requirements of the new standard, and at the same time, they need to consume the inventory packaging and goods for sale, especially cosmetics products, which have a relatively long shelf life and a relatively long consumption cycle in circulation. In order to avoid the impact on production and business activities and new waste, on the basis of extensive consultation with relevant industrial departments, industry associations and enterprises, the formal implementation of the new standards has set up a two-year transition period.
By looking at two questions and three calculations
Quickly judge whether it exceeds the standard.
So, what are the manifestations of over-packaging in the market at present?
The first performance is that the gap is too large. In this regard, the standard gives the prescribed porosity according to the different net contents of food and cosmetics. Ma Aijin, a professor at the School of Food and Health, Beijing Technology and Business University, said: "Specifically, the packaging void ratio of all goods with a net content of less than or equal to 1 ml or 1 gram in the package should be less than or equal to 85%; The packaging void ratio of all commodities with a net content of more than 50 ml or 50 g in the package should be less than or equal to 30%. "
The second performance is that there are too many layers of packaging. In this regard, the new standard is clear: the number of packaging layers of grain and its processed products should not exceed three, and other commodities should not exceed four. However, the new standard also makes it clear that if it is a material layer that directly touches the contents and belongs to the inherent attributes of the product, such as zongzi leaves, bamboo tubes and hollow capsules, it can be excluded.
Ma Aijin said: "The understanding and calculation of the number of packaging layers in the standard is very clear. The packaging layer that directly contacts the contents of food and cosmetics is the first layer. There are several layers of packaging from the first layer to the outermost layer, which is the level of packaging. Taking tea packaging as an example, the metal or plastic packaging that is in direct contact with tea is the first layer, so there are several layers of packaging, which is the number of layers of packaging. "
The third performance is that the packaging cost is too high. The new standard makes it clear that the production organization should take measures to control the cost of all packages except those that are in direct contact with the contents not to exceed 20% of the sales price of the products. Simply calculate the account: a mooncake with three layers of packaging is sold in 10 yuan, so the cost of the second and third layers of packaging can’t exceed 20% of the selling price in 10 yuan, that is, 2 yuan, except for the packaging that directly wraps the mooncake in the innermost layer.
When buying food and cosmetics, how can consumers quickly judge whether there is over-packaging?
According to Wei Hong, deputy director of the Department of Standards and Technology of the General Administration of Market Supervision, consumers can simply judge whether food, cosmetics and other commodities are over-packaged by "one look, two questions and three calculations". First, look at whether the outer packaging of goods is luxury packaging and whether the packaging materials belong to expensive materials; Second, the new standard strictly limits the number of packaging layers. If the packaging cannot be unpacked, it is necessary to ask how many layers there are in the packaging and whether the number of layers meets the requirements. The third is to measure or estimate the volume of the outer packaging, and compare it with the maximum allowable volume of the outer packaging to see if it exceeds the standard.
The new standard also clarifies that the volume of the contents of food or cosmetics is expressed by multiplying the net content by the necessary space coefficient, and the value of the necessary space coefficient depends on the product. Taking alcoholic products as an example, the necessary space coefficient of wine is 13, and the allowable packaging void ratio of a bottle of 500 ml liquor is less than 30%. It can be calculated that the maximum allowable volume of the outer packaging of this bottle of liquor is 9285.7 cubic centimeters. Assuming that the length, width and height of the outer packaging of this bottle of wine are 20 cm, 15 cm and 30 cm respectively, the actual outer packaging volume is 9000 cubic centimeters, which is less than the maximum allowable value and meets the standard requirements.
Implement the main responsibility of enterprises
Rectification as soon as possible during the transition period
"Research shows that packaging waste accounts for about 30% to 40% of municipal solid waste in China, most of which is caused by over-packaging." Chen Hongjun, deputy director of the Standards and Technology Department of the General Administration of Market Supervision, said.
According to the data of the National Annual Report on Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste in Large and Medium-sized Cities in 2020 issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in 2019, the output of domestic waste in 196 large and medium-sized cities was 235.602 million tons. The phenomenon of "garbage besieged city" and "garbage surrounded village" is becoming more and more serious. The release of "Restricting Over-packaging of Commodities Requires Food and Cosmetics" once again emphasizes the requirements for commodity packaging, that is, to reduce resource consumption and packaging waste from the source and reduce the burden on consumers.
Chen Hongjun said that according to the standardization law, products and services that do not meet the mandatory standards may not be produced, sold, imported or provided. After the transition period, food and cosmetics that do not meet the new standards are not allowed to be produced and sold in the market. Therefore, enterprises are called upon to rectify and meet the standards as soon as possible during the transition period.
Regarding how to better implement the new standards, Wei Hong said: First, implement the main responsibility of enterprises. Enterprises are the main body of the implementation of standards. Food and cosmetic enterprises should, in accordance with the requirements of the Standardization Law and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes, earnestly raise their awareness, take the initiative, fulfill their corporate social responsibilities, implement, use and meet the standards as soon as possible, and supply higher quality, greener and low-carbon products to the market.
The second is to strengthen the implementation of standards. The market supervision department will publicize the new standards in all aspects through a variety of ways, such as reading a map, interpreting standards, making standards public, and online cloud classes; At the same time, in conjunction with the relevant departments to organize standard training activities, in order to do a good job in technical reserves for supervision according to the law.
The third is to guide consumers to carry out green consumption. By strengthening public opinion propaganda, we will create a green consumption environment, guide consumers to consciously practice the concept of green consumption, advocate economy and reduce waste, actively buy green, environmentally friendly and low-carbon products, and do not buy or use over-packaged goods.
It is reported that in the next step, the General Administration of Market Supervision will, in conjunction with relevant departments, implement the new development concept completely, accurately and comprehensively, and combine the new deployment requirements of carbon neutrality in peak carbon dioxide emissions, make the full text of standards public free of charge, systematically carry out standard publicity training, strengthen supervision and law enforcement, and urge food and cosmetics production enterprises to start the diagnosis of standard compliance and product packaging compliance design as soon as possible. At the same time, create a good public opinion environment for green consumption, improve consumers’ awareness of the standards for restricting over-packaging of commodities, advocate reasonable consumption, and guide consumers not to buy over-packaged commodities. (Reporter Wan Jing)