EU BPA Ban in Canned Food Packaging: The Deadlines Buyers Need to Know

What Changed

Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 prohibits the use of bisphenol A — and other hazardous bisphenols — in the manufacture of materials that come into contact with food: paints and coatings (including the lacquers lining food cans), plastics, adhesives, rubbers, printing inks, and silicones. It also prohibits placing food-contact materials made with BPA on the EU market.

For canned food, this is the headline change of a generation: the epoxy can linings that historically relied on BPA must be replaced with compliant alternatives across the entire EU supply chain.

Two follow-up documents settled the practical questions. In December 2025, the European Commission published an official Q&A guidance note on scope, testing, and transition timing. In February 2026, Regulation (EU) 2026/250 corrected ambiguities in the original text — without changing any of the bans.

The Three Dates That Matter

The extended 2028 window for fruit and vegetable packaging matters most for buyers in Saporina's categories: it gives the canned fruit and vegetable supply chain time to transition in an orderly way, without stranding compliant stock already in the pipeline.

What the 2026 Clarification Settled

All forms of BPA are covered. The amended wording makes explicit that the ban applies to BPA in every chemical form, including its salts — closing any interpretative gap.

Deadlines are now unambiguous. The transition dates above are stated precisely, so producers, importers, and retailers across the EU apply the same rules — no more divergent national readings.

Documentation got clearer. The declaration of compliance that accompanies packaging must now identify intermediate materials and finished articles more specifically — while removing requirements that previously raised confidentiality concerns. For buyers, this means the paperwork you receive should be more precise about exactly what is in the can and its coating.

What Buyers Should Do Now

Ask every canned food supplier two questions. What coating system is used in your cans and lids — and can you provide an updated declaration of compliance reflecting Regulation (EU) 2024/3190? Compliant suppliers will answer both quickly.

Map your stock against the deadlines. Goods packed in fruit, vegetable, and fish packaging benefit from the January 2028 window and sell-through provisions — so existing compliant inventory is not at risk. New orders should specify BPA-free coatings for EU destinations.

Don't assume this stays an EU-only issue. Major regulatory shifts in the EU tend to propagate — buyers in the UK, Gulf, and other markets may see similar requirements follow. Specifying BPA-free now future-proofs your private label programs.

Saporina's Position

Saporina supplies BPA-free can coatings for all markets where regulations require them — including EU destinations — with the declaration of compliance and full export documentation accompanying every shipment. For markets without BPA restrictions, coating specification remains the importer's choice, and our team will advise on the options for your destination and product category.

If you buy canned tomato products, vegetables, or fruits for the EU market, talk to us about your packaging specifications for upcoming contracts — the transition is a checkbox in our quotation process, not a complication.