What types of stainless steel are safe for food contact? This is a simple question, for which there is no easy answer. Within the EU, each Member State is free to establish its own regulation. For example, Italy has a positive list of stainless steel grades, which can be used in food contact applications. France defines a minimum chromium content of 13% and upper limits for certain other alloying elements. In Germany and the United Kingdom, standards may specify particular qualifications for a particular application.
Member countries are free to decide whether to apply the European Council guidelines in their national legislation. However, they serve as guidance documents for national policy makers. The market often anticipates new legislation: in the absence of legally binding EU-wide criteria, the Council of Europe Guidelines have become widely accepted as a quasi-standard in EU trade. For this reason, it is important for manufacturers of equipment and articles that come into contact with food, to take these guidelines into account.
Alacer Mas makes available to its clients a document that informs about regulation 1935/2004 of October 27, 2004
You can find more information at the following link:
https://www.efsa.europa.eu
