Packaging, filling and labelling machinery

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 — Machinery
• Directive 2014/30/EU — EMC
• Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 for food contact parts
• Regulation (EU) 2016/426 where gas heating is used

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers outside the Union placing packaging and filling machinery on the EU market. Machines handling food add the food contact regime for every product-contacting surface and the hygienic design requirements.

Thresholds and exemptions

None. Line integration makes the integrator the manufacturer of the assembly.

What must appear on the label

CE marking, manufacturer and EU representative details, designation, serial number, year of construction, and rated data. Food contact parts carry the appropriate indication and are covered by declarations of compliance.

Marketplace fields

Buyers require the declaration of conformity and, for food lines, the food contact documentation for every wetted component, because their own food business obligations depend on it.

Documentation you must hold

EU declaration of conformity, technical file with the risk assessment covering entrapment, cutting, hot surfaces and noise, safety control system documentation, and declarations of compliance with migration data for food contact parts.

Standards and testing

EN 415 series for packaging machines by type, EN ISO 13849-1 for safety controls, EN 1672-2 for hygienic design of food processing machinery, and migration testing for contact surfaces.

Language requirements

Instructions, safety and cleaning information in the language of the member state where the machine is put into service.

When it applies

Before placing on the market or putting into service.

How long records are kept

Ten years.

What happens if you do not comply

Prohibition of use and labour inspectorate action. Interlock defeat on packaging lines is one of the most common causes of serious industrial injury in the Union.

Who enforces it

Market surveillance authorities, labour inspectorates and food safety authorities for food lines.

Where the boundary lies

Machines are frequently supplied as partly completed and assembled on site, which shifts the conformity obligation to whoever assembles the line. Food contact obligations attach to components most suppliers treat as mechanical parts.

Questions we are asked

Who is the manufacturer of a production line?

Whoever assembles the machines into a functional whole, using declarations of incorporation from the component suppliers.

Do conveyor belts need food contact documentation?

If they contact food directly, yes, with migration data for the belt material under the conditions of use.