All materials intended to come into contact with food must meet certain EU regulations. As part of our commitment to our food inspection customers, the team at XrayCurtains.com stays informed of current protocols concerning food processing equipment and conveyors. We ensure our x-ray curtain shields meet the regulations necessary for use as a product contact material for raw food applications.
What are the European Regulations for Food Contact Materials?
While we follow regulations around the world, Europe’s most important regulations are described in the guidelines published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). These include European Framework regulation EC no. 1935/2004 on Food Contact Materials and EC no. 2023/2006 on Good Manufacturing Practice. Such regulations are important for any manufacturer who follows the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG) guidelines for Hygienic Design of Belt Conveyors for the Food Industry.
The EU regulations apply to all materials intended to come into contact with food. This includes nonmetal, elastomeric and plastic articles on process equipment such as conveyor belts, gaskets, flexible connectors, edge sealing strips and guards, just to name a few.
General Framework Regulation for Food Contact Materials
European regulation EC no. 1935/2004 specifies definitions, restrictions and requirements for general safety and materials traceability. This regulation contains information on several more specific compliance guidelines. Every supplier of these materials in the food industry must provide customers with a Declaration of Compliance. The Declaration of Compliance states the intended conditions for the use of the materials and contains all the information necessary to identify the materials, as well as the manufacturer.
Good Manufacturing Practice Compliance
Manufacturing of materials and products intended to come into contact with food must comply with the regulation on Good Manufacturing Practice, EC no. 2023/2006. This regulation requires the manufacturer to maintain a quality safety and control system. The fundamental objectives are to provide the food manufacturers with:
- Safe, inert and organoleptically-acceptable materials which produce a final article compliant with the regulatory requirements for food contact.
- Articles where the regulatory compliance of the composition and possible migrants of materials and articles are consistently ensured.
Plastic Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food
EU No 10/2011, commonly referred to as the Plastics Regulation, informs on measures for the introduction of plastic materials. It describes migration examination, including the requirement to assess the substances that the plastic is made from and determines if these substances would later migrate from the plastic. The supporting documentation requirements cover:
- Authorized monomers, other starting substances and additives, including information on identity and the use of the substance; and
- Specific restrictions & specifications for purity requirements, Specific Migration Limits (SML) and the Overall Migration Limit (OML).
Food-Contact Materials Made of Rubber
A more stringent regulation is the Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR) or “The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment” regulation Bfr XXI. This section requires materials based on Natural and Synthetic Rubber have a composition which complies with an approved list of materials. In areas where meat, poultry, fish or dairy products are processed, these materials must additionally follow BfR XXI, Category 3 for fatty foodstuffs. These materials in this category can come into contact with foodstuffs for no more than 10 minutes and are tested and certified to meet migration and organoleptic standards.
Selecting Compliant X-ray Curtains
In order to maintain full compliance, the production and assembly of our food contact x-ray curtains is performed in a facility which has been certified for compliance with European good manufacturing practice. Only materials that meet the current EU regulations are used in our food contact x-ray curtains. Our product data sheets clearly state that our x-ray curtain material is intended to come into contact with food.
Our research and development teams, as well as our manufacturing team, are responsible for the continuous awareness and provision of changing regulations so that we always stay informed. Our food contact x-ray curtains also comply with the US regulatory requirements enforced by the FDA and USDA.
You can download certificates for all our x-ray curtains on our website.
Find everything you need on our website, contact us by phone at (832) 519-8787 or by email at sales@leadfreeshields.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
