TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT	iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	v
LIST OF FIGURES	ix
PREFACE	xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS	xiii
INTRODUCTION	1
Enlargement of the EU	1
Physical distribution of goods in the EU	2
Transport Packaging Requirements	3
CHAPTER ONE - EU PROFILE	5
1.1 Some basic statistics	5
INTRODUCTION ON ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY ISSUES	9
CHAPTER TWO - ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE EU IN REGARD TO PACKAGING	13
2.1 Packaging and packaging waste – Environmental packaging legislation in the EU and its national schemes	13
2.1.1 Essential Requirements	15
2.1.2 Compliance with legal and environmental regulations	17
2.1.3 Trends	18
2.2 Recycling	19
2.3 Particular Types of Packaging Facing Environmental Limitation in the EU	22
CHAPTER THREE - SAFETY ISSUES IN THE EU IN REGARD TO PACKAGING	23
3.1 Food safety, SuperRegulation	23
3.1.1 Food contact legislation and SuperRegulation	23
3.1.2 Toxins in packaging, the concept of the functional barrier	26
3.1.3 Tampering	29
3.1.4 Polymeric materials	29
3.1.5 Food additives	30
3.1.6 Shelf life	31
3.1.7 Traceability	32
3.1.8 Intelligent packaging	33
3.2 Labelling, coding and marking legislations	36
3.2.1 Packaging material	36
3.2.2 Retail packaging for foodstuffs	36
3.2.3 Retail packaging for dangerous household products	37
3.2.4 Retail packaging for other regulated products	38
3.2.5 Transport packages	39
3.2.6 Transport packaging for dangerous goods	40
3.3 Eco-labelling	41
3.3.1 The Eco-Labelling schemes	43
3.3.2 Environmental marketing claims	45
3.3.3 Marking and identification system	45
3.3.4 Concerns of developing countries	47
3.4 HACCP principles and application guidelines	47
3.4.1 Principles of HACCP	48
3.4.2 Implementation of HACCP	49
3.4.3 HACCP and ISO 9000	49
3.4.4 National HACCP system standards	50
3.4.5 HACCP in international trade	50
3.4.6 Packaging and HACCP	51
3.4.7 Example of HACCP principles put into practice	52
INTRODUCTION TO STANDARDS AND VOLUNTARY SCHEMES	55
CHAPTER FOUR - VOLUNTARY SCHEMES	57
4.1 Ecological and Organic products	57
4.2 Fairtrade	59
4.3 Returnable containers	61
CHAPTER FIVE - CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT AND CERTIFICATION	63
5.1 Regulations and standards	63
5.1.1 Packaging technical regulations	64
5.1.2 Packaging standards	65
5.2 Specifications and Inspection	67
5.2.1 Definition of Terms	67
5.2.2 Specifications and Standards	67
5.2.3 Specification and Inspection	67
5.2.4 Inspection	68
5.2.5 Testing	69
5.3 Conformity Assessment and Certification	69
5.3.1 Product Certification	70
5.3.2 Systems Certification	71
5.4 Institutions in Charge of the Quality Control of Imports	73
5.5 Institutions in Charge for Phytosanitary Control	73
5.6 References to Information on ISO 14000	74
APPENDIX I - Model of a declaration of conformity	77
APPENDIX II - Model of declaration of the heavy metal content	79
APPENDIX III - Bookmarks	81