FORMACARE UPDATES

A successful General Assembly but some “Au revoir”

The General Assembly of Formacare recently took place in the lovely town of Helsingborg in Sweden. This was a great opportunity for members to meet again and to discuss the latest developments on formaldehyde. The team was particularly thankful to its members for having responded so broadly to the invitation, including several newcomers, and for the active discussions we had.

Of particular note are the following highlights:

• Formacare welcomed a guest from the US, Jesse Ness, Director Strategy and Regulatory Affairs at Bakelite Synthetics. Jesse presented us with the latest information on the ongoing risk assessment of formaldehyde by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He also informed us about the actions led by the Formaldehyde ACC Panel. Collaborating with our ‘sister associations’ is an essential part of our work.
• We also welcomed for the last time under his mission as Managing Director of the European Panels Federation (EPF), Clive Pinnington. Clive’s presence was a fantastic opportunity to recall all the successful collaborations between Formacare and EPF over the last 10 years, from the promotion of harmonised worker safety to a successful REACH restriction for our industries. We wished Clive all the best for his next chapter.
• Lastly, members of Formacare were informed of the soon departure of Paul Girard from Cefic. Paul has been supporting Formacare as the Sector Group Manager since February 2021. Working closely with the ExCom, he concluded some of the processes initiated by his predecessor and started new workstreams in Formacare. He will miss Formacare and his members very much and he thanked them all for such a strong support and commitment to the group they demonstrated all these years. Paul’s successor will arrive in September, with a new and certainly successful drive.

Formacare welcomes the ECHA guidelines on formaldehyde measurements

Concluding a process which started in February 2024, ECHA released in May 2025 the long awaited Guidelines for the measurement of formaldehyde releases from articles and formaldehyde concentrations in the interior of vehicles. Announced since the adoption of the REACH restriction on formaldehyde emissions in July 2023, these guidelines aim to assist users in complying with their obligations under the said restriction.

Formacare and other stakeholders supported ECHA in the development of the guidelines, providing expertise in relevant analytical methods while coordinating the industry input across the process.

In a recently published statement, Formacare considers that the guidelines offer much-needed clarity and provide concrete technical input to operators navigating compliance requirement. The publication also marks a pivotal moment in the wider regulatory effort to establish new global milestones for formaldehyde safety.

That being said, we regret that the Guidelines do not offer yet, in two specific areas, the level of clarification industry operators need to demonstrate compliance to competent national authorities. Formacare is already addressing these gaps with the competent authorities for REACH while actively liaising with the relevant sectors to jointly identify practical solutions.

Lastly, Formacare has updated its FAQ to reflect the latest developments, as well as further clarify any remaining questions or concerns with the REACH restriction on formaldehyde emissions, and its associated guidelines.

As a reminder, articles such as wood-based panels and furniture that emit more than 0.062 mg/m3 of formaldehyde emissions will no longer be allowed on the EU market as of August 2026; the same deadline would apply to other types of articles if they emit more than 0.08 mg/m3. Vehicles that would expose their passengers to more than 0.062 mg/m3 of formaldehyde emissions will be restricted as of August 2027.

ADVOCACY UPDATES

Melamine – Navigating a complex regulatory framework for Formacare amino producers

Melamine is an important substance for the aminoplast producing industry, and therefore a key priority for Formacare. Although, with many processes going on parallel, following regulations on melamine has been challenging. Here we shall try to make it clear and crisp for everyone concerned:

Recommendation for REACH authorisation

Following its SVHC identification in 2023, melamine was included in February 2024 in ECHA’s 12th draft recommendation of priority substances for inclusion in Annex XIV (Authorisation List) to the REACH Regulation. The Member State Committee (MSC) has been working since on its opinion to help ECHA finalise the document.

Most recently, at the meeting on 10-12 June 2025, the MSC continued the discussion on ECHA’s draft recommendation, taking into consideration the comments submitted earlier in the process by stakeholders, including Formacare. Based on the discussions, the MSC is expected to support the recommendation, which ECHA will finalise and likely submit to the European Commission, by end of the year.

Formacare would like to emphasise that:

• ECHA’s recommendation for authorisation is a non-binding output to the consideration of the European Commission. Only the European Commission has the legal authority to ‘authorise’ a substance, and melamine does not seem to be a priority at this point in time.
• ECHA itself argued that an authorisation procedure does not seem to be the most effective solution to address the issue of melamine presence in the environment.
• The use of melamine in the production of amino resins falls under the REACH intermediate use definition and as such is exempted from authorisation.

Intention for harmonised re-classification of melamine

On 6 September 2023, the German Competent Authority (BAuA) announced its intention to submit a CLH proposal for melamine for Reproductive Toxicity and Persistent, Mobile, Toxic/very Persistent, very Mobile properties. The CLH dossier was submitted to ECHA for an accordance check on 22 April 2025. The dossier proposes the following re-classification of melamine:

• Carc. 2, H351
• Repr. 2, H361fd *
• STOT RE 2, H373
• PMT, EUH450 *
• vPvM, EUH451*

* New

Once ECHA has finalised the accordance check, and if no corrections are considered necessary, the agency will publish the CLH dossier on its website and launch a 60-day public consultation (timeline TBC in Q3-Q4 2025). The melamine suppliers gathered under the Melamine REACH Consortium have taken the lead in this process and will submit scientific information to ECHA. Formacare is providing advocacy support to the melamine suppliers in this procedure.

Next steps are expected as follows:

• Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) of ECHA to conduct its assessment of the CLH dossier in 2026, also based on the received evidence from stakeholders.
• European Commission to adopt the re-classification of melamine (based on the RAC final opinion) in 2027.
• 18-month transition period to conclude in 2028-2029.

CASE STUDIES

Formaldehyde and the Origins of Life – Find out more with our factsheet

Formacare is proud of its latest factsheet questioning if and how formaldehyde was an ingredient in life apparition on our planet.

Last year, we explained to you how formaldehyde was discovered in outer space. This year, we decided to look closer, only to find out that formaldehyde is perhaps even more important than we knew already. Through a chemical reaction called the “formose reaction”, formaldehyde might have played a role in the apparition of sugars and organic compounds which ultimately formed parts of DNA, sparking the transition from simple molecules to life.