Clay, ceramic, porcelain and glass dishes, accessories and equipment

 

National legislation

Regulation on Health Suitability of Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Direct Contact with Food

Official Gazette, No. 125/2009 and 31/2011 

 

Act on General Use Good (see Article 49, point 2.)

Official Gazette, No. 39/2013, 47/2014, 114/2018 and 53/2022

 

Competent authority

 

Scope of application

Clay, ceramic, porcelain and glass dishes, accessories and equipment in contact with food

 

Main requirements that the business user needs to know about

Article 27

Clay dishes, accessories and equipment may be placed on the market only if they are made from pottery clay. After drying, finished products must be coated with a glazing compound and baked at a temperature of at least 900°C.

Exceptionally, unglazed clay dishes may be placed on the market, if they are intended to be used for preparation of certain dishes with low water content and if they meet other requirements prescribed by this Regulation.

When placing unglazed clay dishes on the market, they must be accompanied with an instruction on preparing the dishes before use, on meals which can be prepared in them, and how to wash and clean them.

Dished and accessories from paragraph 1 of this Article which have not been manufactured in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation may not be used for direct contact with food and most be specifically marked.

Ceramic dishes which is placed on the market including retail which is not yet in direct contact with the food must be marked in accordance with the provisions of Attachment 5 of this Regulation.

Article 28

Unglazed clay dishes must be free of cracks, uneven surfaces and pockets. During test performed three times in a row by cooking for 30 minutes in the acetic acid solution, 3% (v/v), the dishes must not release:

1. more than 3 mg of lead and 0.2 mg of cadmium after third test, for 1L of solution;
2. More than 60 mg of total dissolved substances after third test, for 1L of solution.

Article 29

Glazing on the clay, ceramic and porcelain dishes, accessories and equipment must not be damaged and must not peel from the surfaces on which it was applied. Surface of clay, ceramic and porcelain dishes must not be porous.

Edges of the clay, ceramic and porcelain and flatware which are brought to mouth during use must be rounded and smooth.

Article 30

Clay, ceramic and porcelain dishes, accessories, equipment and devices, after standing in acetic acid, 4% (v/v) during 24 hours at the temperature of 22 ± 2°C must not release dyes or heavy metals above the values given in the following categories:

Pb Cd

- Category 1:

For table dishes, equipment and devices - products which can be filled and products which cannot be filled, where filling height from the lowest point to the horizontal edge of the top edge is 25 mm at the maximum. 0.8 mg/dm² 0.07 mg/dm²

- Category 2:

All other products which can be filled, including dishes, equipment and devices for cooking and roasting and dishes for storing food, whose inner height is less than 25 mm: 4.0 mg/l 0.3 mg/l

- Category 3:

Cooking pot; packaging container and storing container, volume greater than three liters. 1.5 mg/l 0.1 mg/l

However, if the amount of released cadmium and/or lead in the ceramic product does not exceed above quantities by more than 50%, this product is despite that is deemed safe i.e. it is deemed that it meets the requirements set out in this article of the Regulations under the following conditions:

- If at least three other products are of the same shape and size, with identical decorations and glazing tested under the conditions from Attachment 1 of this Regulation, where the average value of the released lead and/or cadmium must not exceed limit values from this article

- where not one product from at least three other products are of the same shape and size, with identical decorations and glazing tested under the conditions from Attachment 1 must not exceed limit values for released lead and/or cadmium by more than 50%.

For dishes, equipment and devices from paragraph 1 of this article which are used together with a lid, testing is done in the dish itself and separately on the inside of the lid, as specified in paragraph 1 of this article, and obtained migration values for the metals are added together. Their sum must not be greater than the allowed values from paragraph 1 of this article.

Release of dyes, lead and cadmium is tested under conditions from paragraph 1 of this article and in the outer edge which comes into contact with the mouth during use, to the height of 20 mm, taken from the top edge of the dishes. Allowed values for the metals must not be greater than the allowed values from paragraph 4 of article 25 of this Regulation.

Methods of analysis for determining migration of lead and cadmium from ceramic products are given in Annex 1 which is printed with this Regulation and is an integral part of this Regulation.

Article 31

Glass dishes which is placed on the market must not have any sharp or damaged edges.

Glass dishes with decorated inner surface, after standing in acetic acid, 4% (v/v) during 24 hours at the temperature of 22 ± 2°C must not release lead and cadmium in amounts greater than those allowed in paragraph 1 of Article 28 of this Regulation.

Glass dishes whose inner surface is not decorated, after standing in acetic acid, 4% (v/v) during 24 hours at the temperature of 22 ± 2°C, expressed for 1L, must not release:

1. more than 0.05 g of lead;
2. more than 0.05 mg of cadmium;

For crystal glass which contains lead, allowed amount of lead from paragraph 3 of this article is 0.5 mg/L.

Outer surface of glass dishes with a height of 20 mm, taken from the top edge, must not release lead and cadmium in amounts greater than those allowed in paragraph 4 of Article 25 of this Regulation.

 

Market Surveillance Authority

State Inspectorate

pisarnica.dirh@dirh.hr

 

Link to the TRIS database

In the TRIS database you can look up the notification of the technical rule