Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the mandatory national standard "Requirements for Restricting Excessive Packaging of Fresh Edible Agricultural Products" (GB 43284-2023) (Hereinafter referred to as GB 43284). The standard will be implemented starting from April 1, 2024. To avoid unnecessary impacts on agricultural production and new resource wastage, a six-month transition period has been set, and it is stipulated that "fresh edible agricultural products produced or imported before the implementation date can be sold until their expiration date." 

After implementation, producers and operators should comply with the standard's requirements and design packaging for fresh edible agricultural products in accordance with the regulations. The implementation of this standard will strengthen the governance of excessive packaging across the entire supply chain, guide producers and operators of fresh edible agricultural products towards appropriate and reasonable packaging, and provide a basis for law enforcement and market regulation. The standard clearly defines the technical indicators and criteria for determining whether vegetables (including edible fungi), fruits, livestock and poultry meat, aquatic products, and eggs, the five major categories of fresh edible agricultural products, are excessively packaged. A spokesperson from the SAMR provided an interpretation of the relevant content of the standard. The following questions will help you understand excessive packaging of fresh edible agricultural products.

1.  What is excessive packaging of fresh edible agricultural products?

The mandatory national standard GB 43284 defines excessive packaging as packaging that exceeds the required packaging void ratio, number of packaging layers, or packaging costs.

2. What is the scope of application for the GB 43284?

According to the provisions of the GB 43284, this standard applies to the sales packaging of fresh edible agricultural products including vegetables (including edible fungi), fruits, livestock and poultry meat, aquatic products, and eggs.

3. Do imported fresh edible agricultural products also need to comply with the GB 43284 and meet the requirements for packaging reduction?

According to Article 25 of the Standardization Law of the People's Republic of China, products or services that do not comply with mandatory standards may not be produced, sold, imported, or provided. Therefore, imported fresh edible agricultural products need to comply with the requirements of the mandatory national standard when being sold domestically.

4. For some fresh edible agricultural products, the shelf sales may meet the requirements for the number of layers, but after being sold through e-commerce platforms and delivered by courier, the courier packaging reaches the hands of consumers. Does this courier packaging count as sales packaging?

Given the characteristics of being fresh and perishable and the industry needs of fresh edible agricultural products, sales packaging also has functions such as preservation and vitality in the supply chain of such products. In the definition of "sales packaging" in Article 3.2 of the GB 43284, it explicitly states that it "does not include logistics protective packaging and functional products such as cooling, gas regulation, moisture-proof and other preservation and vitality tools". The courier packaging is regarded as logistics packaging, so it is not considered as sales packaging.

5. Which packaging materials are included in the number of layers, and which packaging materials are not included in the number of layers?

In the calculation of the number of layers, the net bags/sockets that hold the entire fresh edible agricultural product are counted as one layer; two materials stacked together or drawer-style combination packaging are counted as one layer; open handle bags are not counted as a layer. Simple tying ropes, labels, markings, adhesive packaging, packaging cushioning, insulators, fillers, and buffers are not counted as one layer; heat shrink film outside the sales packaging in close contact with the fresh edible agricultural product is not counted as one layer. When calculating, the first layer is the packaging directly in contact with the fresh edible agricultural product, and so on. The outermost layer of packaging is the Nth layer, with N being the number of layers of packaging.

6. How can consumers quickly determine whether the packaging is excessive?

Consumers can generally use "observe, inquire, calculate" to quickly determine whether the product's packaging is excessive. "Observe" involves looking at whether the outer packaging of the product is luxurious and whether the packaging materials are expensive. "Inquire" means asking about the number of layers of packaging without opening it, and determining whether the packaging for vegetables (including edible fungi) and eggs exceeds 3 layers, and whether the packaging for fruits, meat, and aquatic products exceeds 4 layers. "Calculate" involves measuring or estimating the volume of the outer packaging and comparing it with the allowed maximum volume of outer packaging to see if it exceeds the limit. If any of these three aspects does not meet the requirements, it can be preliminarily determined as not meeting the standards.

We appeal to consumers to try not to choose excessively packaged products, resist excessive packaging behavior, and practice the concept of green and low-carbon consumption through their own actions.