EU Declaration of Compliance (DoC) for Food Contact Materials Guide

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Issuing a Declaration of Compliance (DoC) is mandatory when importing and manufacturing certain food contact materials in the European Union. Notice that this also includes consumer products such as drinking bottles, cutlery, and individual components.

In this guide, we explain how you can determine if your specific food contact material or product requires a Declaration of Compliance, and what you must know before creating one.

Covered Regulations

  • Plastic Materials Regulation ((EU) 10/2011)
  • Use of Bisphenol A in Varnishes and Coatings Regulation ((EU) 2018/213)
  • Active and Intelligent Materials Regulation ((EC) No 450/2009)
  • Recycled Plastic FCM Regulation ((EC) No 282/2008)
  • Ceramics Directive (84/500/EEC)
  • Regenerated Cellulose Film Directive (2007/42/EC)
  • Epoxy Derivatives Restriction Regulation ((EC) 1895/2005)
  • FCM from China or Hong Kong Regulation ((EU) No 284/2011)

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List of Products Covered by the Federal Hazardous Substances Act

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List of Products Covered by FHSA

The Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) restricts hazardous substances and products that may contain hazardous substances. In this guide, we list various categories of products that fall under the scope of the FHSA, such as art materials, adhesives, and bicycles.

Product List Creation Methodology

This list is based on the Regulations, Mandatory Standards and Bans list published on the official CPSC website. We only list products covered by the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA).

General Certificate of Conformity (GCC)

Importers or manufacturers of non-children’s products covered by the FHSA for which consumer product safety rules apply have to issue a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC). The GCC is a self-issue document certifying that a product complies with applicable safety standards, and it must include data such as:

  • Product name and description
  • List of applicable CPSC safety rules and standards
  • Company information
  • Name of the person holding the test report
  • Date and place of production
  • Date and place of product testing
  • Third-party testing company information

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Packaging Materials Regulations in the United Kingdom: A Summary

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Packaging Materials Regulations in the United Kingdom

Product packaging materials are subject to various regulations and standards in the United Kingdom, applicable both to packaging materials as a category – and product packaging for consumer products. As such, packaging materials regulations are relevant to importers, manufacturers, distributors, and other businesses trading physical products.

In this guide, we cover The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations, UK REACH, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and other compliance requirements for packaging materials..

Note that this article does not cover packaging material regulations in Northern Ireland.

What is a packaging material?

A packaging material refers to most materials used to hold, protect, handle, deliver, and in the presentation of goods, and includes packaging for raw materials right through to finished goods to be sold or being sold.

Examples of packaging material include:

  • Paperboard boxes
  • Aluminum
  • Foam
  • Flexible plastic packaging
  • Cardboard/Fiberboard

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ProductIP Compliance Services Guide: An Overview

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ProductIP Compliance Services Guide

ProductIP is a company that offers an online system that helps importers and manufacturers to create, manage and share their technical compliance files – mainly for the EU market (even if some services might also be relevant for the UK market).

The company, which is known for being a pioneer in product compliance solutions, also provides additional compliance services – often complementary to its platform. Further, it offers training workshops to help importers and manufacturers better understand how they can demonstrate product compliance most effectively.

This guide provides an overview of ProductIP’s digital solutions, services, and workshops.
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Prefab Home Regulations & Safety Standards in the United States

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Prefab Home Regulations in the United States

Thinking of importing or manufacturing prefabricated homes for the US market? Although a unifying building code standard for prefabricated homes does not exist yet, there are regulations and safety standards that should be observed.

Construction products that are commonly referred to as “prefabricated” include:

  • Kit homes
  • Modular homes
  • Stick-built homes
  • Prefabricated panels
  • Manufactured homes

However, from a legal point of view, there are two types of prefabricated homes:

  • Those that follow federal laws (legally known as “manufactured homes”)
  • Those that follow local state laws and codes (legally known as “modular homes”).

In this article, we present various legislation, codes, and safety standards that are relevant to the prefabricated housing market in the United States.

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Voluntary Product Safety Standards: An Essential Guide

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Are you thinking about having your product meet voluntary product safety standards? Some might consider it to be costly and time-consuming. However, there are compelling reasons to do so, not to mention that it may help you avoid civil liability in some jurisdictions.

In this article, we present common questions associated with voluntary product safety standards and present the business case for adopting such voluntary standards.
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United Kingdom Product Labelling Requirements: An Overview

Posted on by John Vinod Khiatani — 3 Comments

Are you importing or manufacturing goods for the UK market? If so, you will likely need to comply with certain product and packaging labelling requirements. Additionally, some categories of products require a mark of compliance (e.g. UKCA Mark) to be placed in the UK market.

In this article, we cover most of the common labels found in various products sold in the United Kingdom, including electronics, toys, and food contact products. This article does not apply to Northern Ireland as they follow EU rules.
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NRTL Approval for Importers and Manufacturers: A Summary

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NRTL Approval

Are you an importer or a manufacturer supplying products like electrical installations or equipment into the United States? Then you may be required to seek NRTL Approval for your product.

In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Commission (OSHA) imposes duties on employers to ensure a safe working environment for employees. To do this, OSHA requires certain products to be “approved” by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

In turn, employers, retailers, and customers have an expectation that applicable products supplied are compliant with OSHA rules.

In this article, we present information related to the NRTL approval process and explain why it would be important to importers and manufacturers.
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Furniture Regulations and Standards in the United Kingdom

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Furniture Regulations and Standards in the United Kingdom

Are you importing or manufacturing furniture products in the United Kingdom? Depending on the furniture, certain regulations may apply to your product and require you to have your product tested and labelled in a particular manner.

In this article, we cover relevant safety regulations and standards affecting various furniture products placed in the UK, such as the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations or the Timber and Timber Products Placing on the Market Regulations. This article does not apply to Northern Ireland as they follow EU rules.

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UL Listed Products: An Essential Guide for Importers & Manufacturers

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UL Listed

Are you an importer or a manufacturer looking to have your product UL Listed? UL Listed products are products that have been tested for safety by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), or by third-party labs accepted by UL.

In this article, we cover UL listing services for consumer products, including their general requirements for UL Listed products, how it differentiates between other UL marks and more.

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