“Please send all your certificates.” It is a reasonable request that usually produces an unhelpful answer, because a packaging compliance file is not a single bundle. It is four different kinds of evidence with four different owners.
| Document | Issued by | What it proves |
|---|---|---|
| Business licence | The factory | Legal existence and registered address |
| Material declaration | The factory, based on mill data | What the board, film or ink is made of |
| FSC® chain of custody | The mill or converter holding the certificate | Certified fibre with a documented chain |
| Migration test report | An accredited third-party laboratory | Food-contact safety for a specific material set |
| Drop and compression test | In-house (or a certified lab on request) | That the pack survived a defined test protocol |
| EU packaging conformity | You, the producer placing it on the market | That the pack meets the rules in force |
The factory-issued documents are the easy ones
A business licence, a factory profile, a material declaration listing board grade, film polymer and ink type: these we issue directly and quickly. Where the declaration depends on mill data, the mill's technical datasheet is attached rather than paraphrased, so your compliance team gets the primary source.
FSC is a mill certificate, not ours
This is the point most often misunderstood in sourcing. Chain-of-custody certification belongs to the mill or converter that holds it, not to the box maker who buys their board. If a program needs certified fibre, we source material carrying a valid chain-of-custody claim and pass the mill's certificate and the transaction record to you. We do not describe ourselves as FSC-certified, because that would not be accurate.
Food contact needs a nominated material set
Migration testing is performed against a defined material combination: specific board, specific coating, specific ink, tested for specified food types and conditions. Change the laminate and the report no longer covers your pack. Accredited laboratory work is subcontracted, and it is commissioned against the set you intend to run — which means the test has to be planned with the specification, not after it.
ISTA is honest about its own limits
We can run drop and compression testing in-house against an ISTA protocol and provide the recorded data. If your buyer needs a report bearing an accredited laboratory mark, that report has to be commissioned externally. We will say which of the two you are getting, in writing, before the test is scheduled.
An honest compliance file contains some lines that say “this is verified” and some that say “this still needs checking.” A file where every line says certified is usually the one worth auditing.
What stays with the buyer
Market rules on packaging are a producer obligation. The EU packaging and packaging waste framework, extended producer responsibility registrations in individual member states, single-use restrictions, and national recycling labelling requirements all attach to the company placing the pack on that market. We can tell you what a construction is made of and how it behaves, and we can recommend a format that is easier to demonstrate compliance for. We cannot sign the declaration of conformity on your behalf.
A practical compliance request
Instead of asking for “all certificates”, name the market, the product category and the material set. Then ask for:
- Material declaration with mill datasheets for the exact grades quoted
- Ink and coating composition for the print specification
- Any chain-of-custody claim, with the mill certificate and transaction record
- The test protocol your buyer accepts, and whether an accredited lab is required
- A written statement of what is not tested or not certified
That request can be answered in a couple of working days. A blanket request usually takes longer and produces a file nobody can act on.
Need a document for a specific market?
Tell us the market and the material set. We will tell you what we can issue, what the mill issues, and what has to be commissioned.
Ask us