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The Ceramic Articles in Contact with Food Regulations You may have heard about changes in the law relating to the safety of ceramic items that are designed to hold food. The regulations set limits on the levels of lead and cadmium permitted to migrate out of ceramic articles intended to come into contact with food, the [process is called “metal release”. These regulations now come under the scope of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and some changes have been made to the implementation of the regulations. In particular manufacturers are now required to produce documentation demonstrating compliance with migration limits. I have had extensive contact with the FSA to establish how this impacts on our business and on Ceramic Cafés. The first thing to say is DON’T PANIC! Duncan and Gare colours and glazes have been tested over the years and have always passed metal release tests; since the new regulations I have had them tested again. We tested combinations of Duncan GL612 glaze and Gare GG1700 glaze, over both Duncan Concepts and Gare Funstrokes and as expected, results confirm that all combinations pass and conform to the regulations. I attach our Certificate of Compliance which is based on these results. In the unlikely event of a visit from the FSA, show them this report; it should be sufficient to reassure them. They are entitled to test any piece in your studio but you can rest assured that as long as the piece is fired correctly there will be no problem. If you do have contact with the FSA please call me and I can put them in touch with our contact.Please note that we can only speak for combinations of Duncan and Gare products, we cannot vouch for results when these colours or glazes are used in combination with products from other manufacturers. If you would like to discuss this matter further or have any concerns about health and safety issues please don’t hesitate to call me. Ken Shelton
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