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Listen to this siteFriday 2 March 2012
kitchen ware
Food contact materials are items intended to come into contact with food. Examples include food packaging, cookware, cutlery, tableware, work surfaces and food processing machinery and equipment.
QA
The European Framework Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 on Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Foodstuffs lays down the general safety requirements for all materials and articles that come into contact with food. The regulation also ensures that they do not change the nature, substance or quality of the food.
Food contact materials and articles include so-called 'active' and 'intelligent' food contact materials and articles that, in their finished state, are intended to come into contact with food.
Examples of food contact materials and articles include food packaging, cookware, cutlery, tableware, work surfaces and food processing machinery and equipment.
The law also covers materials and articles that come into contact with foods or transfer their constituents to food (which may include printing inks and adhesive labels, for example).
However, it excludes covering or coating substances that are part of the food and may be eaten with it, such as sausage skin. Also excluded are materials and articles that are supplied as antiques.
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Specific requirements exist for particular materials and articles:
Other rules apply to packaging waste and general food hygiene.
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The Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2009, (which supersedes the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2008 amendment regulations) set an overall migration limit for all food contact plastics. This limit is 10 milligrams per square decimetre of plastic surface area in general.
However, a limit of 60 milligrams per kilogram of food applies specifically in the case of containers or similar receptacles with a capacity between 0.5 and 10 litres, or which have a contact area that cannot be determined and for sealing devices such as caps, gaskets and stoppers.
The regulations also establish:
Finally, the regulations establish rules for testing migration from food contact plastics and for checking compliance with the regulations.
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wineglass and fork symbol Unless the food contact use is obvious, the EC regulation requires that food contact materials and articles that aren’t in contact with food when sold, should be accompanied by either the words 'for food contact', or a specific indication as to their use. The official symbol, of the wineglass and fork, can be used.
If necessary, special instructions for the safe and appropriate use of the material or article must also be given, along with the name, and address of the manufacturer, processor or seller.
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No, the FSA does not approve products before they are allowed on the market. But it does help ensure they are safe and comply with the legal maximum levels of migration allowed for consumer protection, based on the opinions of the European Food Safety Authority.
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Not necessarily. Where there are already EU-wide rules in force in the UK, these rules must be complied with. If there are no specific rules, the general requirements laid down in the European Regulation will have to be met.
FDA approval might be relevant in some instances where, in the case of legal action, a court might accept this as part of a defence against prosecution. But this is not a compulsory legal requirement in the United Kingdom.
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Yes. Aluminium can pass into food from cookware and packaging but only in small amounts. The majority of aluminium in the diet is from natural sources (for example, tea and leafy vegetables) or through aluminium-containing additives (used in baking).
It’s best not to use aluminium products to cook or store foods that are highly acidic, such as:
This is because these types of food can acquire an aluminium taint that can affect their taste, especially if foods are stored in aluminium containers for long periods of time.
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Not every cling film is suitable for all uses. To prevent avoidable chemical migration from cling film, you should:
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Often packaging is designed to be used once with one food and it might not be safe to use it with others, or for a different purpose. If containers or wrappings are used in a way they weren't designed for, chemicals could transfer from them into the food in greater amounts than would otherwise be expected.
There are a number of points you should consider if you're thinking about re-using packaging:
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Contact:
Food Contact Materials Unit
Food Standards Agency
Aviation House, 125 Kingsway
London WC2B 6NH
Tel: 020 7276 8548
Fax: 020 7276 8514
Email:
FoodContactMaterial@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
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