Materials and products intended to come into direct or indirect contact with food are called contact materials.
Contact materials include all materials that are intended to come into contact with food, for example:
- Packaging materials for food, such as plastic bags, plastic films, paper bags, cardboard and plastic packaging, as well as various types of foil,
- Tableware, such as crockery, glasses, cutlery,
- Kitchen utensils, such as pots, frying pans, baking trays, ladles and whisks,
- Kitchen appliances, such as coffee makers and electric whisks
- Parts of cooking appliances, such as seals and hoses
- Different types of equipment and surface layers, such as conveyor belts and filter cloths
Companies that manufacture, refine or distribute contact materials are called contact material companies.
Liability of the contact material company
It is the manufacturer, processor, importer, distributor or food producer (i.e. the person who releases the material or product on the market) who is responsible for ensuring that the material and products are suitable for use in the intended food and that the legislative requirements are met. Whoever manufactures, refines, imports, distributes or uses contact materials must also have a system for traceability one step back and one step forward in the supply chain (unless you sell directly to the consumer). This is to facilitate control and to be able to recall defective products.
Certain types of materials (and products from those materials) that are to come into contact with food must be accompanied by a declaration of conformity (Declaration of Conformity (DoC)) which, among other things, shows that the materials and products meet the requirements of the legislation, as well as how and for which foods as the product in question can be used.
Marking of contact material
Contact material companies must ensure that their products are correctly labeled. It is common for the marking to be done directly on the product or on the packaging, but the information can also be found in an accompanying document, depending on how it is distributed. The information in the labeling must be clearly visible, easy to read and permanent.
There are different ways to mark that a product is safe to use in contact with food. A common marking is the glass/fork symbol, which shows that the product can be used for contact with food under normal conditions. If the material in question has any type of restriction, that information must be found next to the glass/fork symbol. It may be that the product is not suitable for use at high temperatures or with fatty food. If a product is marked with the glass/fork symbol and there is no further information on use, the product should be safe to use under normal food contact conditions.