1. The testing of plastic materials and articles shall be carried out under the test conditions specified in Part V of this Schedule using a simulant or simulants selected in accordance with this Part of this Schedule and taking a new test specimen of the plastic material or article for each simulant used.
2.—(1) Where a test is carried out on a plastic material or article intended to come into contact with more than one food or group of foods and a reduction factor is specified for one or more of those foods or groups of foods which is not equivalent to the reduction factor specified for one or more of the other foods or groups of foods with which the plastic material or article is intended to come into contact—
(a)the reduction factor specified for each food or group of foods, as appropriate, shall be applied to the test result; and
(b)the plastic material or article shall be treated as being capable of transferring its constituents to food with which it may come into contact in excess of a migration limit specified in regulation 7 or Schedule 1 if, following application of the specified reduction factors, one or more of the results show that the material or article does not comply with that specified migration limit.
(2) For the purposes of this paragraph—
(a)a reduction factor is the figure which follows an “X” and oblique stroke in the group of columns headed “Simulants to be used” in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule;
(b)a reduction factor is specified for a food or group of foods where, in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule—
(i)the food or group of foods is described in the column headed “Description of food”; and
(ii)“X” is placed in a column headed by a specified simulant opposite that food or group of foods followed by an oblique stroke and a reduction factor; and
(c)a reduction factor shall be applied to a test result by dividing the result by that reduction factor.
3. Food types are defined in the Table to this paragraph (referred to in this Part of this Schedule as “Table 1”).
| Definition | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Aqueous foods having a pH> 4.5 | Foods in relation to which simulant A only is specified in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule |
| Acidic foods having a pH<= 4.5 | Foods in relation to which simulant B only is specified in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule |
| Alcoholic foods | Foods in relation to which simulant C only is specified in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule |
| Fatty foods | Foods in relation to which simulant D only is specified in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule |
| Dry foods | Foods in relation to which no simulant is specified in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule |
4. The simulants to be used in testing a plastic material or article which is intended for contact with all food types shall be those mentioned below which, at the test conditions specified in Part V of this Schedule, are considered to be the more severe:
simulant B;
simulant C; and
simulant D.
5. The simulant or simulants to be used in testing a plastic material or article which is already in contact with a known food shall be—
(a)where the known food is a specific food or is within a specific group of foods described in column 2 of the Table to Part IV of this Schedule and, for the purposes of Part IV of this Schedule, a simulant is, or simulants are, specified in relation to that specific food or specific group of foods, the simulant or simulants so specified;
(b)where the known food is neither a specific food nor within a specific group of foods described in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule, the simulant or simulants in column 2 of Table 2 to this Part of this Schedule opposite the description of food in column 1 of that Table which corresponds most closely to the known food.
6. The simulant or simulants to be used in testing a plastic material or article which, pursuant to regulation 7 or 8, as appropriate, of the 1987 Regulations, is accompanied by a specific indication stating any type or types of food described in Table 1 with which it may or may not be used shall be the simulant or simulants in column 2 of Table 2 to this Part of this Schedule opposite the contact food in column 1 of that Table which corresponds most closely to the type or types of food with which it may be used, as identified by the indication which accompanies the plastic material or article.
7. The simulant or simulants to be used in testing a plastic material or article which, pursuant to regulation 7 or 8, as appropriate, of the 1987 Regulations, is accompanied by a specific indication, expressed in accordance with paragraph 8 of this Part of this Schedule, stating any food or group of foods described in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule with which it may or may not be used shall be—
(a)where the indication states that the plastic material or article may be used with a food or group of foods described in column 2 of the Table to Part IV, the food simulant or food simulants which, for the purposes of Part IV of this Schedule, is or are specified in relation to that food or group of foods;
(b)where the indication states that the plastic material or article should not be used with any food or group of foods described in column 2 of the Table to Part IV of this Schedule, a simulant other than the simulant or simulants which, for the purposes of Part IV of this Schedule, is or are specified in relation to that food or group of foods.
8. A specific indication referred to in paragraph 7 of this Part of this Schedule is expressed in accordance with this paragraph if it is expressed—
(a)at a marketing stage other than retail, by using the reference number in column 1 of the Table to Part IV of these Regulations or the decription of food in column 2 of that Table which, in either case, corresponds to the food;
(b)at the retail stage, by using an indication which refers to only a few foods or groups of foods described in the Table to Part IV of this Schedule.
| Contact foods | Simulant |
|---|---|
| Only aqueous foods | Simulant A |
| Only acidic foods | Simulant B |
| Only alcoholic foods | Simulant C |
| Only fatty foods | Simulant D |
| All aqueous and acidic foods | Simulant B |
| All alcoholic and aqueous foods | Simulant C |
| All alcoholic and acidic foods | Simulants C and B |
| All fatty and aqueous foods | Simulants D and A |
| All fatty and acidic foods | Simulants D and B |
| All fatty, alcoholic and aqueous foods | Simulants D and C |
| All fatty, alcoholic and acidic foods | Simulants D, C and B |