{"topic_id":"gain_mx2025-0049_mexico_04_packaging_additives_and_contaminants","category":"intl-2026","context":"---\ntopic_id: gain_mx2025-0049_mexico_04_packaging_additives_and_contaminants\ncategory: USDA-GAIN-INTL\ntitle: FAIRS Country Report Annual - Packaging Additives and Contaminants (MX2025-0049)\nlang: en\nsource: USDA GAIN MX2025-0049 (December 02, 2025)\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-18\ntokens_estimated: 1709\nextra: {\"country\": \"Mexico\", \"report_id\": \"MX2025-0049\", \"report_date\": \"December 02, 2025\"}\n---\n\n# FAIRS Country Report Annual - Packaging Additives and Contaminants\n\n**Report Number:** MX2025-0049\n**Date:** December 02, 2025\n**Country:** Mexico\n**Prepared By:** USDA FAS Foreign Agricultural Service\n**Source:** [USDA GAIN Report](https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=FAIRS+Country+Report+Annual_Monterrey+ATO_Mexico_MX2025-0049.pdf)\n\n## Packaging Additives and Contaminants\n\nSection III. Packaging and Container Regulations\nThe General Health Law authorizes SALUD to regulate food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic\nbeverages, and tobacco packaging. Manufacturers and distributors who manufacture or use metal\ncontainers for food and beverages must comply with NOM-002-Salud1-1993. This regulation\nprohibits the sale or import of foods or beverages in metal containers with lead solders and\nspecifies the type of seams permitted for hermetically sealed containers. NOM-130-Salud1-1995\nlays out basic sanitary requirements for hermetically sealed products with thermal treatment,\nincluding limits on microorganisms, heavy metals, and additives.\nA. Packaging Sustainability Measures\nOn June 25, 2019, a Decree that reforms and adds several provisions to the “Ley de Residuos\nSólidos del Distrito Federal/Federal District Solid Residues Law/Solid Waste Law of Mexico\nCity” was published in the Gaceta Oficial de la Ciudad de México. The dispositions in the\nDecree entered into force in Mexico City on June 26, 2019. Prohibitions for the utilization of\nnon-compostable single use plastic items appear under Article 25. XI of the Decree. The\nprohibition to distribute, commercialize, and offer non-compostable plastic bags to consumers at\npoints of sale of goods and products came into effect at the beginning of 2020. On January 1,\n2021, the prohibition to distribute, commercialize, and provide single-use, non-compostable\nitems including cutlery, cups, plates, trays, straws, and other products manufactured totally or\npartially with plastic, and designed for disposal after a single use, came into force. The\nprohibitions were also implemented on January 1, 2021, for single-use plastic coffee capsules\nand for items manufactured with micro plastics.\nOn November 18, 2021, Mexico`s Senate presented to the Chamber of Deputies a decree project\nto reform and add dispositions to Mexico’s Federal Law “Ley General Para la Prevención y\nGestíon Integral de Los Residuos.” Within ninety days from the day of entry of the Decree, each\nState Government must make changes to the corresponding State laws to comply with the\nDecree. For complete information on the decree project please visit the Cámara de Diputados\nwebsite and review Parliamentary Gazette 5912-II dated 11/23/2021.\nSection IV. Food Additive Regulations\nSALUD, through COFEPRIS, regulates the use of additives in the preparation of food for human\nconsumption. On July 16, 2012, SALUD published a guideline that determines additives and\nother substances (colorants, enzymes, synthetic flavors) used in food, beverages, and food\n\n7\n\n\nsupplements; their uses; and sanitary guidelines to reinforce the food safety of edible products\nand the health of the consumers. This document, which was updated in 2016, references\npermitted and prohibited additives and the maximum and minimum levels of additives in food,\nbeverages, and food supplements. The current changes, which are valid but remain unannounced,\nmay be accessed on the COFEPRIS website.\nNOM-130-Salud1-1995 establishes the regulation and sanitary specifications for foods in\nhermetically sealed containers subject to heat-treatment and includes the list of authorized food\nadditives for canned foods and admissible amounts.\nNOM-213-Salud1-2002 addresses the sanitary specifications for processed meat products. It\nincludes a list of permitted additives subject to best manufacturing practices and a list of\nadditives and their established maximum levels.\nSection V. Pesticide and Contaminants\nThe Inter-Secretariat Commission for the Control Process and Use of Pesticides, Fertilizers, and\nToxic Substances (CICOPLAFEST) governs pesticide use in Mexico. Although it is not a formal\nregulatory body, the \"Commission\" coordinates the GOM's actions on pesticides through the\nsecretariats of SALUD, SADER, and SEMARNAT, each with a defined regulatory function for\nevaluating the pesticide, including imports and exports. Information on the agencies' roles in the\nprocess can be found in Article 3 of the Federal Regulation on Registration, Import and Export\nAuthorization, and Export Certificates for Pesticides, Fertilizers, and Toxic Materials (DOF 2812-2004). The regulation establishes the procedures for pesticide registrations. Through\nCOFEPRIS, SALUD authorizes registrations, issues pesticide-free certificates, and grants import\npermits. SEMARNAT provides technical opinions regarding the protection of the environment.\nIn contrast, SADER provides technical support regarding pesticides and fertilizers' biological\neffects and on phytosanitary aspects of maximum residue levels. The federal regulation on\nregistration, import and export authorization, and export certificates for pesticides, fertilizers,\nand toxic materials lays out the procedures for pesticide registrations. Through COFEPRIS,\nSALUD is responsible for authorizing registrations, issuing free sale certificates for pesticides,\nand granting import permits. For detailed information, visit the COFEPRIS website.\nOn February 4, 2020, ECONOMIA updated the \"Agreement that Modifies the Classification and\nCodification of Merchandise Whose Import and Export is Subject to Regulation by the InterSecretariat Commission for the Control Process and Use of Pesticides, Fertilizers and Toxic\nSubstances.\" See here for details. To visualize how the different GOM authorities interact in the\nregulatory process for pesticide registration, please see Figure 1 below.\n\n8\n\n\nFigure 1. Authorities, Laws, and Regulations in Pesticide Registration in Mexico\nOn August 11, 2015, SADER published in the DOF modifications to the official standard NOM032- FITO-1995, which establishes requirements and specifications to prepare studies on\npesticide efficacy, including a Biological Effectiveness Report. Pesticides must undergo a field\ntrial evaluation to determine their effectiveness and performance in Mexico. The information\nanalyzed in the report must be science-based and grounded in good laboratory practices.\nOn October 9, 2014, SADER consolidated its regulation of MRLs for animal and fishery\nproducts by canceling the existing NOMs and publishing a new regulation in the DOF outlining\nthe establishment of animal product MRLs. For more information, visit SENASICA's website.\n\n## Source\n\nUSDA GAIN (Global Agricultural Information Network)\nOriginal source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service\n\n---\n\n*Last updated: 2026-07-18*\n","sources":[],"tokens_estimated":1709,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}