On 2 September, China’s new mandatory standards for food-contact coatings and coating layers, GB 4806.10-2025, and food-contact silicone rubber materials and products, GB 4806.16-2025, entered into force. Issued earlier by the National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation, the rules affect the Chinese market for can coatings, packaging layers, cookware coatings, silicone seals and food-contact consumer goods. They do so by updating requirements for permitted materials, migration testing, labelling and supply-chain controls.
For coatings suppliers, this is not merely a paperwork exercise. GB 4806.10-2025 replaces the previous 2016 standard and updates its scope, terminology, raw-material requirements, physical and chemical indicators, migration-test provisions and labelling rules. The standard puts the chemistry back at the centre of compliance: formulation design, raw-material selection, process control and product-information transfer all matter.
It also makes clear that responsibility does not stop at the coating manufacturer. Companies using coatings are expected to manage risks through packaging design, barrier layers, curing conditions and effective information transfer. That reflects commercial reality. Food-contact compliance is determined by the final application, not by a resin, additive or coating viewed in isolation.
For silicone-rubber producers, GB 4806.16-2025 replaces the former GB 4806.11-2016. Suppliers of silicone nipples, seals, bakeware and kitchen products—and the chemical companies supplying them—now need to ensure that formulas, test reports and labelling remain aligned with the new framework.
The wider significance is global. China’s food and packaging market gives its standards reach far beyond its borders. Overseas suppliers selling into China will need more than a compliant ingredient list; they will need a traceable, consistent case showing that the material remains compliant through conversion and final use.
