In Europe and Italy there are strict legislations concerning so-called Materials and Objects in Contact with Food (MOCAs), since all surfaces that come into contact with food can potentially contain molecules that migrate from the supporting surface to the food itself, thus contaminating it.
The purpose of these regulations is to provide precise public health protection guidance aimed at ensuring that all MOCAs do not constitute a source of danger by releasing undesirable substances onto the food which they come into contact with, through chemical analysis of lead and cadmium release onto ceramic MOCAs.
MOCAs include all objects whose shape suggests food oriented purposes, so a teapot cannot be sold as an ornament because its shape implies its function, i.e., it is expected to be used to put tea in it.
These are the EU regulations to refer to:
- Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 for materials and goods in contact with food, and
- Regulation (EC) No. 2023/2006 for good manufacturing practices.
In Italy, these regulations have been transposed by:
- DPR 777/82 e successivi aggiornamenti e modifiche
- DM 21/03/1973 e successivi aggiornamenti e modifiche;
- DM 04/04/1985 disciplina degli oggetti di ceramica destinati ad entrare in contatto con i prodotti alimentari
- DM 01/02/2007 Recepimento della direttiva 2005/31/CE della Commissione del 29 aprile 2005, che modifica la direttiva n. 84/500/CEE del Consiglio, per quanto riguarda la dichiarazione di conformità e i criteri di efficienza dei metodi di analisi per gli oggetti di ceramica, destinati ad entrare in contatto con i prodotti alimentari
- DL 10/2/2017, n. 29 Disciplina sanzionatoria per la violazione degli obblighi derivanti dal regolamento (CE) n. 1935/2004
For this purpose, the manufacturer of MOCA objects has the following obligations:
- Register with the regional MOCA producer registry.
- Produce a “MOCA Declaration of Conformity”
- Accompany the declaration with supporting documentation, which includes:
- A documented system of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP Good Manufacturing Practice) in which the production process is described and a Tracking and Traceability system is organized,
- A Labeling system (to be attached to items sold)
- Lead and Cadmium Release Analyses for glazes intended for ceramic use.
Declarations of compliance for my items can be found here.