According to the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) news, on January 2, 2023, the EU notified the import of children's tableware and strip leaf kiwi extract failed. The specific notification reads as follows:
Briefing time | Notify the State | Products | Number | Reason | Sales status/measures | Notification Type |
2023/1/2 | France | Bamboo fiber children's tableware | 20230012 | Unauthorized use of bamboo | Distribution to other member countries/exit from the market | Follow up information bulletin |
2023/1/2 | Spain | Kiwi Leaf Extract | 20230014 | Unauthorized new food products | Product not yet put on the market/officially withheld | Denial of Entry Notification |
According to the report, the unqualified bamboo fiber children's tableware sold to Algeria, Angola, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Italy, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, New Caledonia, Portugal, North Macedonia, Romania, Spain and Tunisia.
Bamboo fiber is a cellulose fibre extracted from bamboo or similar plants. Bamboo fiber itself is a very good material, breathable, water-absorbent and wear-resistant than ordinary chemical fibers. So, why does the EU ban the import of bamboo fiber tableware?
Bamboo fiber is a material that is natural and environmentally friendly. However, to make bamboo fiber into tableware, a lot of adhesives are needed. The problem lies in these adhesives.
The EU banned the use of bamboo fiber tableware from the previous year, and it was in these tableware that large amounts of formaldehyde and melamine were detected. Among them, formaldehyde can irritate skin mucous membranes, cause respiratory diseases, and also cause allergic reactions, and most importantly, formaldehyde is a strong carcinogen. Generally, after renovating a house, you have to wait for three months for the formaldehyde to be released before you can move in. The main source of formaldehyde in a renovated house is glue, paint, adhesives, etc.
Melamine, which many people have heard its name, is a chemical raw material in itself, mainly used in materials, among paints. Melamine, if added to milk, can increase the amount of protein detected.
For example, laminate tableware, although lightweight and fall-resistant hazard is very small, but some poor quality, can precipitate a large number of harmful chemicals in the laminate tableware, the harm is quite large. A set of tableware can be used for many years, which is equivalent to years of smoking toxic chemicals, the use of which may be regretted for life.
In fact, the EU prohibits the addition of harmful chemical materials in bamboo fiber tableware, while the use of sugar cane pulp, bamboo pulp, raw wood pulp production of paper-plastic tableware, the EU is still very welcome.
