Thailand is reworking its plastic food-container standard (2026)

Nothing has changed yet — data is being collected before it does

On 16 September 2026 the Thai FDA announced that it is reviewing Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 435, B.E. 2565 (2022), issued under the Food Act B.E. 2522, which sets the quality and standard of containers made from plastic.

The FDA is not asking only for opinions. The notice asks for information, comments and suggestions so that the standard is workable for operators on the basis of scientific fact and of how these materials are actually manufactured and used. It wants test data and field evidence. The window runs until 31 December 2026, and the notice links a response form and a document explaining the direction of the review.

This notice changes no test requirement and creates no new obligation. There is no amending notification number and no effective date.

Who can file, and who pays if the standard moves

These are usually not the same company.

Most brands selling packaged food or kitchenware into Thailand do not make their own packaging. Containers come from a packaging manufacturer, and so do the migration test reports. The party that can actually file useful data during this review is that manufacturer. What the brand can do now is narrower and more useful: find out which report your containers are covered by, and whether your supplier intends to file anything.

If the standard is eventually revised, the cost that reaches a seller is rarely the retest fee. It is customs and inventory. A change to the container standard changes the evidence attached to the import declaration, and consignments without that evidence stop at the port. If a supplier needs several months to obtain a report against the new edition, those are months in which stock does not reach a Thai warehouse.

That evidence is filed in the importer's name. If you sell into Thailand without a local entity, the question of who holds importer of record is the same question as who handles this paperwork. hyCommerce takes that seat through importer of record and customs clearance.

What to assemble before 31 December

• Group the items you ship to Thailand by resin type and grade, with the additive list for each product family.
• Write down the actual conditions of use — filling temperature, sterilisation method, the food types and fat content in contact, and shelf life.
• Check which standard and method your existing migration test reports were issued against. A report to Notification 435 and a report to a home-market standard carry different weight here.
• Tell your packaging supplier the review is open and ask whether they plan to respond.
• Where a current requirement has been hard to meet in practice, gather the reason and any alternative evidence alongside it.

What is not settled yet

The amending notification has no number, no effective date and no transitional provision. Which materials and which test parameters will actually be revised is not stated in this notice either. Item-level judgement needs the linked review-guidance document.

One thing is certain at this point: the date. 31 December 2026.

Sources

• Thai FDA Food Division call for comments and technical data (16 September 2026)

Registration, importer of record and customs at hyCommerce are handled by Doosigan Co., Ltd. If you want to know whether your packaging falls inside this review, tell us the product and we will check it with you.

Verified 2026-09-23.