To be considered compliant for food contact, materials must meet requirements. Currently, standardization bodies are working on a standard for porcelain (vitreous) enamel. OCAS was invited to participate in the project lead by the Italian enamellers Association (CISP).
OCAS has a proven track record on vitreous enamelling and recently developed a game-changing green alternative for traditional Co and/or Ni containing enamel layers. At the same time, its state-of-the art chemical analysis equipment enables OCAS to detect metal-ions in very low concentrations. These assets allow OCAS to check food contact compatibility of materials.
Drinking water regulations
As new regulations on drinking water might enforce a reduction of the cobalt and boron content in vitreous enamels, a new track has been opened to investigate solutions for steel for enamelling. In this case, the glass-to-metal link might be Co-free, obtained after designing the surface of the steel.
Validating the new standard for food contact compliance for vitreous enamelled steel
All oven trays on the market are enamelled, as well as many pots and cookware. To be considered compliant for food contact, the European Commission launched working groups on this matter to develop a standard test for this material.
Through a collaborative study lead by the Italian enamellers Association (CISP), data will be collected by participating institutes and research centres for the determination of metal-ions release from vitreous and porcelain enamel that will come into contact with food. This data will enable to validate the developed standard.
Thanks to its experience on vitreous enamelling of steel and its state-of-the art equipment for chemical analysis, OCAS was invited by CISP to participate in this study. The potentially extracted metal-ions will be detected using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
Moreover, OCAS is equipped to detect potentially extracted metal-ions in very low concentrations.
”By combining our experience in the field of enamelled steel with our advanced chemical characterisation techniques, we can check materials for food contact compliance. We can furthermore provide solutions that meet the new regulations”.
