Contact materials
‘Food contact materials,’ ‘contact materials’ for short, refer to all materials and supplies that touch food directly or indirectly.
Contact materials include:
- food packaging materials, such as plastic bags, plastic film, paper bags, cardboard boxes, foil and disposable tableware
- dishes and cutlery
- food preparation utensils, such as pots, pans, baking trays, ladles and chopping boards
- food preparation appliances, such as food mixers, cake machines, juice presses or coffeemakers
- parts of food preparation appliances, such as seals, hoses, pipes and gears
- various surfaces, such as countertop surfaces, conveyor belts and filtering cloths.
An example of the differences between direct and indirect food contact is a biscuit package where the biscuits are first packed in transparent plastic (direct contact with food) and then in a cardboard box (indirect contact with food).
In practice, all materials and supplies that are intended to touch food, that already are touching food or that can be assumed to touch food are considered contact materials.
Contact material providers
Operators in the contact material sector include all operators bringing food contact materials to the market.
Contact material operators include
- producers of materials and supplies that are used in the manufacturing of contact materials and supplies
- manufacturers of the contact material itself
- operators that sell contact materials wholesale
- operators that import or export contact materials.
Contact material operators must submit a notification to the Environmental Health Services of their place of operation and the operations taking place there.
Submitting the notification
You can submit the notification via the Ilppa e-services.
Alternatively, you can fill in the form and submit it to the Environmental Health Services
Price list of Porvoo Environmental Health Services