EU Food Contact Materials TestingEN 1186, EN 13130, EN 1388, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• QWhat are food contact materials and food contact products?
  A

  Food Contact Materials (abbreviated as "FCM") refer to materials that come into contact with food under normal or foreseeable use conditions. Products with some or all components made of food contact materials are called food contact products, such as electric kettles, coffee machines, rice cookers, spoons, food packaging bags, etc.

• QWhy do food contact products need to meet higher safety standards in addition to general environmental protection requirements?
  A

  During contact with food, food contact materials may affect the smell, taste and color of food, and may even release a certain amount of toxic and harmful components, such as heavy metals, additives and polymer monomers. These chemical components will migrate into food and then be ingested by the human body, directly endangering human health. Therefore, food contact materials need to meet higher safety standards than general products.

• QBesides the EU market, are there any other global markets that have mandatory requirements for the hygiene and safety of food contact materials?
  A

  Since food contact materials are related to food safety, major global markets including the EU, China, the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries and regions have formulated mandatory requirements for the hygiene and safety of food contact materials. It is particularly important to note that the specific requirements of different markets vary greatly, and some are even incomparable. Therefore, when food contact products enter different markets, their compliance needs to be evaluated separately according to the specific requirements of each market.