ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Anna Garbagna on how new Italian food hygiene laws directly impact on the cleaning sector.

Regulated by both national and European provisions, MOCAs (the Italian acronym for Materials and Objects in Contact with Food) are based on Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004. Where no specific EU laws exist, member states can establish national measures. Since this involves consumers’ health, it is of particular interest and attention, especially because today it also affects fundamental accessories for carrying out cleaning and hygiene actions.

The relevant regulation is constantly evolving and directly involves not only the producers of the materials themselves, but also the distributors, responsible for verifying and complying with the legislation, so as not to cause a danger for the end users.

Luca Campisi, executive director of Flashpoint, spoke about it extensively during the webinar organised by AFIDAMP when the directives given by the EC regulation were addressed and explored in depth. In particular, all those materials that are used and consequently come into contact with food substances were discussed. The aim is to protect the consumers’ health, which could be at risk if the material in contact were to change its nature, for example due to deterioration.

Labelling of the products themselves is absolutely fundamental. A task that falls mainly to the producers and, in the event of major changes being made during construction, also to the distributors. A label provides consumers with all the information that can protect them from any health and hygiene problem. These objects come into contact with food products (packaging, paper, cardboard, ink and stickers) which must always comply with the regulatory provision in EC Regulation n. 2023/2006.

Luca Campisi then went into detail about all the obligations that distributors in the professional cleaning sector must comply with so that they abide by the current European legislation and its 2023 updates. This will ensure they do not incur any severe sanctions following a NAS (Italian office for the prevention of the adulteration of beverages and foodstuffs) inspection.

All phases covered

It is therefore extremely important to follow good manufacturing practices (GMP) of materials and objects intended to come into contact with products used by consumers. The regulation, as mentioned, applies to all phases of production, processing and distribution, involves the entire supply chain and requires a guarantee of compliance with quality standards in all phases, up to the control phase.

This law must regulate the activity of all manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, machines, products and services for professional cleaning belonging to the association, and not just to guarantee professionalism and the correct application of the laws. Hence the importance of the creation of the MOCA Standard manual, the drafting of which has been entrusted to the association itself and which must of course be adapted to the needs of individual members. The association will collaborate and offer support to all companies requiring help with it.