On 1 August 2024, The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) of the Council of Europe has published the second edition of the technical guide “Metals and alloys in food contact materials and articles”. Intended for regulators and business operators and designed to enhance the harmonisation of technical standards, this work aims to improve consumer health protection across Europe. The revision includes the following updates:

• Revised limits for some elements and added a new test requirement for zirconium:

  Elements	2nd Edition Limit(mg/kg)	1st Edition Limit(mg/kg)
  Chromium (Cr)	1	0.25
  Manganese (Mn)	0.55	1.8
  Thallium (Tl)	0.001	0.0001
  Zirconium (Zr)	2	--

• Guidance on release testing has been updated to ensure coherence with the Testing conditions for kitchenware articles in contact with foodstuffs: Plastics, Metals, Silicone & Rubber or its revisions (JRC guideline 2021).
• The chapter on the declaration of compliance in the first edition was omitted from the current edition in view of the corresponding guiding principles stated in the Appendix to Resolution CM/Res(2020)9, section 8.2.

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