Bowls, plates, chopsticks, lunch boxes, utensils: tableware and kitchen items imported from Asia are "materials in contact with food". They follow strict rules, and one trap comes up often: "melamine-bamboo" tableware.
The "bamboo" tableware trap
Many cups, bowls and plates sold as "eco-friendly, made of bamboo" are in fact plastic (often melamine) mixed with bamboo powder. This mixture is illegal in the European Union: bamboo is not on the list of substances authorised in plastics in contact with food (Regulation (EU) 10/2011). The EU Member States carried out a joint control operation against these products, completed in April 2022 (European Commission, "Bamboo-zling").
Not to be confused: an object made of solid bamboo (chopsticks, board, spoon carved from bamboo) is not covered by this ban on plastics, but it must also be safe for contact with food.
The essential obligations
- Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 sets the basic rule: the object must not transfer dangerous substances to food or change its taste or smell.
- For plastic objects, Regulation (EU) 10/2011 sets the list of authorised substances and migration limits. Ask your supplier for the written declaration of compliance and the test results.
- The object must show that it is intended for food (wording or glass-and-fork symbol), unless this is obvious.
- Keep traceability: who supplied you, which batch.
Inspection in France: DGCCRF (the French consumer protection authority).
The rule common to all products
Since 13 December 2024, the European regulation on general product safety (Regulation (EU) 2023/988) requires a responsible economic operator established in the European Union (often the importer) to be indicated, with its contact details, on the product, its packaging or an accompanying document. A company that imports from China, Vietnam or Thailand to sell in France becomes this operator: it is the one that answers for the product.
To go further
Looking for a manufacturer in Asia, verified in the official register of its country?
Publish a requestSources (consulted on 1 November 2026): European Commission, "Bamboo-zling" (food.ec.europa.eu); Regulations (EC) 1935/2004 and (EU) 10/2011; Regulation (EU) 2023/988.
For information only, up to date on 1 November 2026. General information, not legal advice: check the official text (EUR-Lex) and ask the inspection authority before selling. This information does not engage the liability of Passerelle France-Asie.