PPWR for Food and Beverage: The Rules That Actually Change Your Production Line

Food and beverage packaging carries risks that most other sectors do not have to think about. It touches the product directly, it moves through HORECA counters as well as retail shelves, and a large share of it is designed to be thrown away within minutes of purchase. PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, treats that reality as its own category, with obligations that go well beyond the general recyclability and labeling rules that apply to packaging in general.

This article stays inside the food and beverage sector specifically. If you manufacture, fill, distribute, or sell food or drinks in the EU, here is what actually changes, and by when.

Substance restrictions on anything that touches food

From August 12, 2026, food contact packaging cannot contain PFAS above strict concentration thresholds, and a combined limit applies to heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium VI, and mercury. This is the one substance rule with no phase in and no exemption window. If your packaging touches the product directly, whether that is a yogurt pot, a meat tray, a coffee pouch, or a beverage bottle cap liner, this is the first thing to check with your material suppliers, not the last.

Note that PPWR sits on top of existing food contact material rules, it does not replace them. A packaging item can pass PPWR's substance thresholds and still need separate food contact material clearance under the existing EU framework. Treat the two as parallel checks, not one combined one.

HORECA: refill and reusable takeaway become mandatory, on a schedule

If you run or supply restaurants, cafes, bakeries, or any point of sale serving food or drinks for immediate consumption, two dates matter more than August 2026 itself.

From February 12, 2027, HORECA operators serving takeaway beverages or ready-made food must let customers bring their own container to be filled, at no penalty and without being able to refuse on hygiene grounds once basic conditions are met.

From February 12, 2028, the same operators must also offer a reusable packaging option for takeaway beverages and food, at no extra cost compared to single-use, and must inform customers that the option exists.

Micro and small businesses, fewer than 10 employees and under 2 million euros in turnover or balance sheet, are exempt from both obligations. Larger bakery chains, coffee chains, and catering groups are not.

There is no hard reuse quota attached to these two obligations themselves. What does exist is a separate, softer target: food service establishments are expected to aim for 10 percent of what they serve in reusable packaging by 2030. It is a direction of travel, not a number you get fined for missing outright, but retailers and franchisors are already building it into supplier contracts.

Deposit return systems for drinks, by 2029

By January 1, 2029, EU member states must have a deposit and return system running for single use plastic beverage bottles and single use metal beverage containers up to 3 liters, with a 90 percent separate collection target. Glass is not included at EU level, though a member state can add it voluntarily. A member state can only skip the deposit system if it already collected over 80 percent separately in 2026 and has a credible plan to reach 90 percent by 2028, a bar very few countries currently clear.

For beverage producers, this is not just a waste management detail. Deposit systems change how consumers physically return your packaging, which changes your recycled content sourcing, your logistics for empties, and in some markets your pricing at the till. If you sell bottled or canned drinks anywhere in the EU, this deserves its own line item in your 2026 to 2029 planning, separate from your general PPWR file.

Beverage packaging reuse targets, with real exemptions

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage packaging carries a specific reuse target: at least 10 percent reusable by 2030, rising to 40 percent by 2040. The regulation carves out several categories that do not count toward this target, including highly perishable beverages, milk and milk products, wine, and spirits. If your business sits in one of those categories, this specific target does not apply to you, though the general PPWR obligations still do.

Compostable packaging, but only where it earns its place

PPWR does not treat compostable packaging as automatically better than recyclable packaging. It restricts compostability to formats where it genuinely solves a problem: permeable tea and coffee bags, single serve coffee pods, sticky labels on fruit and vegetables, and very lightweight plastic carrier bags. These must meet compostability by February 12, 2028. Everything else, unless a member state adds a national exception, is expected to be designed for recycling instead. If your packaging line still treats compostable material as a general purpose green upgrade, this is the moment to check whether it actually qualifies, or whether it needs to move to a recyclable format instead.

What this means for recycled content and recyclability, specifically for food packaging

From 2030, plastic packaging faces minimum recycled content thresholds, and this is where food and beverage packaging often struggles the most, since food contact recycled plastic has stricter safety requirements than recycled plastic for non-food uses. At the same time, the shift toward minimum recyclability grades hits multilayer barrier films, a format widely used for meat, cheese, and ready meals, particularly hard, since multi-material barriers are often the least recyclable format on the market today. Companies that wait until 2029 to test alternatives will be competing with every other food manufacturer in the EU for the same limited supply of qualified food-grade recycled material and recyclable barrier alternatives.

Where to start if you have not

Map your packaging by product line, not by material, since a single beverage SKU can carry PFAS exposure, a reuse target, and a future deposit system requirement all at once. Then separate what is due in 2026 from what has real lead time before 2028 to 2030, and put someone in procurement or quality in charge of tracking supplier documentation for food contact compliance specifically, since this is usually where food and beverage companies lose the most time compared to other sectors.

Where ECONOS fits in

ECONOS already works with Romanian food and beverage manufacturers, including dairy producer Five Continents and meat processor Fox Com Serv, on carbon accounting and EcoVadis readiness, so we understand the production line reality behind a packaging change, not just the regulatory text. For PPWR specifically, we help you translate the sector rules above into a short, ranked list for your actual product lines, using the same training first approach that leaves your team able to maintain the file, not dependent on us for every future update.

If you want a clear read on where your food or beverage packaging stands against PPWR, reach out to us!