ENAC has enabled AIMPLAS to expand its scope of accreditation for standard UNE 53928:2020 on Plastics. Reusable plastic tableware for food use. This standard regulates product labelling that indicates the minimum number of dishwashing cycles the product can withstand, thus highlighting the reusability of tested tableware.
Minimum Number of Dishwashing Cycles
An audit conducted by ENAC at the AIMPLAS laboratories has enabled AIMPLAS to expand its scope of accreditation for standard UNE 53928:2020 on Plastics. Reusable plastic tableware for food use. This standard regulates product labelling that indicates the minimum number of dishwashing cycles the product can withstand, thus highlighting the reusability of tested tableware.
The goal of this standard is to respond to Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. The Directive supports reducing the generation of waste and its environmental impact, as well as the shift from disposable tableware to reusable items, as a means of fostering a true circular economy in the plastics sector.
Through the performance of accredited tests, reusable plastic tableware manufacturers can identify their products as reusable and indicate the number of wash cycles these products can withstand. The standard stipulates that the manufacturer is responsible for determining the number of cycles a product can successfully withstand but must bear in mind that an item must be able to withstand at least five wash recycles to be considered reusable.
According to the standard, it is important for the test not to fail in terms of any inspection criteria. In fact, after the washing resistance tests, the standard recommends repeating the migration tests to check if the limits are met as set out in Regulation 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.
Source: AIMPLAS