EU tightens controls on imports of plastic kitchenware from China

26 November 2010 12:56  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--The EU will tighten its controls on imports of kitchenware made from melamine and polyamide from China, the European Commission said on Friday.

The executive body said that from July 2011, kitchenware originating from China could only be imported with a declaration certifying that it complied with the strict EU limits on primary aromatic amines and formaldehyde.

“Member states will do a documentary check on all shipments of polyamide and melamine kitchenware from China and analytical checks will be performed on 10% of the consignments,” the Commission said in a statement.

Primary aromatic amines are genotoxic substances and should therefore not migrate into food. They can occur as contamination in the polyamide kitchenware.

Formaldehyde is authorised for use in the manufacture of melamine kitchenware with a migration limit of 15mg per kg of food.

The Commission said in recent years, member states had alerted the EU to a consistently high number of non-compliant kitchenware originating from the Asian country.

The EU Food and Veterinary Office, in its inspections in China and Hong Kong, also noted shortcomings in the Chinese system to control plastic kitchenware exported to the EU, the executive body added.

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By: Hilde Ovrebekk
+44 20 8652 3214

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