Preliminary findings of takeaway food container investigation

The preliminary results of the transaction verification (TV) loop on FSC-certified takeaway food containers confirmed that, in line with the defined scope of this TV loop, China is a key manufacturing and trading hub, while countries in Europe, specifically Germany, Poland, and Switzerland represent the majority of the consumer market. The transaction data analysis revealed several cases of potential volume mismatches and other risks to the integrity of takeaway food container supply chains, which will be evaluated in the next steps of the TV loop. 

FSC and Assurance Services International (ASI) launched this TV loop in June 2025 to identify trade patterns and volumes of certified takeaway food containers and related products. This is the first TV loop on FSC-certified paper products.    

TV loop scope 

ASI collected transaction data for the period July to December 2024 from 710 certificate holders across 28 countries or regions with dinnerware (or P6.7 product type according to FSC’s classification) across all FSC claims in their certificate scope.   

Main findings 

According to the TV loop data collected from this phase, nearly 50 million cartons and over 700 million items with FSC claims, including paper straws, cups, and plates, in addition to other dinnerware products were sold to non-certified consumer-facing businesses. 

The following  cases were identified as  potential integrity risks, including those that may indicate false claims or other credibility concerns:   

• Some suppliers reported ‘no FSC sales’ of dinnerware within this TV loop’s scope, however their customers declared purchasing FSC-certified products from them.
• Transactions in which the volume of certified materials purchased by some certificate holders do not match the corresponding volume sold by their suppliers.
• Two instances in which certificate holders voluntarily terminated their certification shortly after the launch of the TV loop and prior to their first surveillance audit.
• A number of certificate holders beyond the scope of this TV loop were identified actively trading with certified buyers included in this TV loop. Some of these suppliers reported no FSC sales during their annual audits, even though their buyers confirmed purchasing products included in this TV loop.  

Next steps 

In the second phase of the TV loop, ASI will conduct deeper investigations into certain supply chain clusters which might potentially be risky for the integrity of the certified food takeaway container supply chain. These investigations will focus on discrepancies found in the transaction data analysis and potential volume mismatches, including ‘no FSC claims’, to assess whether non-conforming products may have entered the FSC-certified supply chain and identify the liable certificate holders. In addition, further targeted investigations beyond the original scope of this TV loop are being considered to more comprehensively assess and address the supply chain risks identified in the first phase of this TV loop.   

In 2026, FSC  introduced a new feature in FSC Public Search that displays the names of certificate holders who have declared no sales of products with FSC claims during their previous audit. This update implements the requirements of the Advice Note, FSC-ADV-20-011-15, Public disclosure of ‘no FSC sales’. FSC-certified companies and purchasers of FSC-certified products are encouraged to use this information as part of their due diligence and compliance processes, as well as to support communication with their trading partners. 

Previous news release: 

New investigation into certified takeaway food container supply chains | fsc.org