Materials in contact with food — Legislation and regulations

Decree no. 92-631 of July 8, 1992 transposes into national law Framework Directive 89/109/EEC on materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs:

"Materials and articles must be inert with respect to foodstuffs. In particular, they must not transfer to these foodstuffs, under normal or foreseeable conditions of use, constituents in a quantity likely to :

• present a danger to human or animal health;

• cause an unacceptable change in the composition of foodstuffs or an alteration in their organoleptic characteristics.

The constituents of these materials must be expressly authorized after consultation with the Conseil supérieur d'hygiène publique de France.

The decree of November 13, 1986 specifies the conditions for approval of substances used in materials in contact with food, and how to put together an application for authorization.

The field of application for food contact is vast, but it is also evolving. European regulatory harmonization is not yet complete, and standardization work must keep pace with, or even anticipate, these regulations, so as to contribute to their development.

In the field of metallic materials, apart from the general principle of inertia, French regulations are fragmentary, and EU regulations have not yet been drawn up.

The purpose of this document is to help you take stock of the current situation with regard to standards and regulations, and to enable you to find your way around the texts in order to choose materials suitable for contact with foodstuffs.

For information on the choice and application of materials authorized for contact with foodstuffs, please refer to [F 1 305] .