New initiative to promote compliant paper drinking straws on European markets

A new quality initiative for paper drinking straws has just been launched by the European industry body 360° Foodservice. The initiative aims to ensure and promote compliant, safe paper drinking straws across Europe. It is the brainchild of the leading European paper drinking straw manufacturers and their supply chain partners.

The modern paper drinking straw is a new highly engineered product that has become increasingly popular as a replacement for plastic straws, which are going to be banned in the EU, the UK and other countries as of July 2021. To support this transition, 15 companies within 360° Foodservice have developed the Charter of Trust for Paper Drinking Straws, an initiative to inform the marketplace and help it make safe, sustainable choices.

We need to be clear to anyone who wants to trade with the EU – to anyone who wants to put their products on our European market – we must be clear that they too must meet the same legally-binding product requirements that we impose on our own companies,” said AnnaMichelle Asimakopoulou, MEP and Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee during an event to launch the initiative. “This is crucial when it comes to measures designed to protect consumers from risks to health and safety

The Charter of Trust aims to promote companies and products that put compliance and safety first. Work to develop this initiative was started two years ago when it became apparent that some products circulating on the EU market do not always comply with European legislation aimed at protecting consumers.

Small and middle-sized distributors and retailers do not always have the capacity to take informed decisions about the quality of the paper drinking straws they are buying. Similarly, national competent authorities for customs and market surveillance often lack the knowledge and resources to check the compliance of imports and products already on the market. The Charter of Trust intends to fill that information gap to help identify compliant, safe products.

Our goal in 360° Foodservice is to lead the responsible and sustainable evolution of the packaging and related items – like drinking straws – that are used every day to safely serve food and drinks to millions of European consumers, says Anne Sutton of Dart Products Europe and president of 360 Foodservice.

Companies signing up to the Charter of Trust commit to comply with all EU requirements on materials in contact with foodstuffs. Soon, an internationally registered Trustmark will be unveiled, that will make it easier for businesses in the food service supply chain to identify products supplied by companies that commit to comply in full with the law. It will be backed by business-tobusiness communication campaigns and information programmes to national regulators, market surveillance services and control authorities, as well as to relevant EU bodies.

Ms. Asimakopoulou added : “I want to congratulate 360° Foodservice for creating the Charter of Trust for Paper Drinking Straws. This shows initiative, it shows dedication to high quality and it shows, above all, respect for the European consumer. We need all of these things in Europe today.”

Additional background information is available at www.qualitystraws.eu