The European Union (EU) RoHS 2 status is declared per directive 2011/65/EU. The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive bans the use of four metals and two flame retardants in electronic products sold in Europe.The RoHS Directive strictly bans the use of six hazardous materials. The materials are four metals: lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and mercury; and two brominated flame retardants: polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). In addition, as of July 2019, the EU RoHS 3 status is declared per directive 2015/863/EU to amend Annex II (Directive 2011/65/EU) to add the following 4 phthalates onto the list of restricted substances: Bis(2-Ethylehexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), and Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). 

This note is to certify that, to the best of our knowledge, materials sold by Plastics International do not have any of the substances intentionally added during the manufacturing process. In addition, we would not expect the total of any of these substances to exceed 100 PPM. 

Please see our downloadable RoHS letter here, and contact sales@plasticsintl.com if you have any additional questions. 

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is a not-for-profit organization, which provides a forum for producer, users, and consumers to establish standards for materials, products, systems, and services. ASTM standards are developed voluntarily and used voluntarily. Standards become legally binding only when a government body references them in regulations, or when they are cited in a contract. ASTM standards referenced in this guide pertain to characteristics of plastic resins prepared for property testing via injection molding. Property values listed in these Standards are not always representative of extruded shapes. 

Health Canada and Agriculture Canada are Canadian Government Agencies analogous to the FDA and USDA, respectively in the United States. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a regulatory agency of the U.S. government, responsible for determining how materials may be used in contact with food products. Definitions for proper use are found in a series of regulations published annually under Government Regulations CFR 21. The FDA provides certain specifications regarding composition, additives, and properties. A material which meets these standards can then be stated as FDA COMPLIANT. End-users should note that it is their responsibility to use the product in a manner compatible with FDA guidelines. There are also approvals which may comply with the Food Contact Notification (FCN) of the American Food and Drug Administration of effective premarket notifications for Food and Contact Substances (FCS).

NSF International, formally known as The National Sanitation Foundation, is an independent, not-for-profit, neutral agency, serving government, industry, and consumers in achieving solutions to problems related to public health and the environment. 

Manufacturers who provide equipment displaying the NSF symbol have applied to the NSF for device approval to a specific standard. The approval is issued for the finished product (device) in a specific use (application). To obtain device approval, all components within the device must comply with the Standard. Establishing compliance of the equipment's components can be accomplished in one of two ways:

(1) The component has been tested to the Standard by the component supplier and is certified as such.

(2) The equipment manufacturer must supply documentation that the component meets the Standard, If any testing is required, it must be completed by the equipment manufacturer.

The NSF maintains numerous standards. Three commonly referenced NSF standards for plastic materials are: 

• 14 Plastics Piping Components and Related Materials 

• 51 Plastics in Food Equipment

• 61 Drinking Water System Components-Health Effects

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent not-for-profit organization chartered to "establish, maintain, and operate laboratories for the investigation of devices, systems, and materials with respect to hazards affecting life and property." "Listing", the most widely recognized of UL's services, means that samples of a product have been evaluated, and they comply with UL Standards. Products tested and recognized by UL are listed in a Component Directory. 

Plastic materials can be evaluated per the following UL Test Methods: UL746A Polymeric Materials - Short Term Property Evaluations; UL 746B Polymeric Materials - Long Term Property Evaluations; UL746C Polymeric Materials - Use in Electrical Equipment Evaluations; UL-94 Test for Flammability of Plastic Materials. These tests are described in detail in Plastics Recognized Component Directory - Polymeric Materials, Processes and Systems, available from UL. 

The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) is a voluntary, not-for-profit organization that promotes the public health by establishing and disseminating officially recognized standards of quality and authoritative information for the use of medicines and other health care technologies by health professionals, patients, and consumers. 

USP judges the suitability of plastic material intended for use as containers or accessories for parenteral preparations. Suitability under USP Class VI is typically a base requirement for medical device manufacturers. 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Safety Inspection Service regulates manufacturing, packaging and handling practices in the agricultural food industry. Historically, the USDA reviewed material composition and issued "letters of no objection" for materials deemed to be chemically acceptable for their intended application. This protocol is no longer practiced. Current policies for assuring the chemical acceptability of materials used for components of food processing equipment is outlined in Accepted Meat & Poultry Equipment Publication (MPI-2, 3818 Directive 11220.0) November, 1193. This policy states that components used in direct food contact must be documented as to their compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ("FDA Compliance") by a written letter of guaranty from the manufacturer to ensure that they are formulated in compliance with appropriate regulations. Therefore, USDA requirements for material approval are satisfied by a certification of FDA compliance.