Norway finds illegal levels of PFOA in kitchen equipment

In two of the recent surveillance projects conducted by the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA), mixed results were found in random checks of kitchen equipment, where several substances were detected above the permitted limit; but non-compliance was not spotted in cases for both car and boat care products.

Among the 36 kitchen products tested, such as blenders and baking equipment, the inspectors from the NEA tested the following substances:

• heavy metals (lead, cadmium, chromium and mercury); 
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); 
• phthalates; 
• short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs); and 
• perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). 

In total, five electronic products and one paper product failed to meet the compliance, where the paper product, the muffin tins, contained PFOA at 0.054mg/kg. This exceeded the limit value of 0.025mg/kg or 1mg/kg for the sum of PFOA-related compounds. As a result of non-compliance, these six products have been withdrawn from the market.

As for the electronic products, they contained lead and cadmium, which were both above the permitted limits. Moreover, two of these products also lacked the CE-marking, i.e. lacked the certificated indication of compliance regarding product safety with the Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electronic and electrical equipment.

For tests carried out on car and boat care products, the NEA found no compliance issues among the 13 products tested, including varnish, polish, and lubricant, meaning there was no detectable violation of regulation toward PFOA and PFOA-related compounds. Although four of the tested products contained polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), it was shown below the permitted level; the remaining nine products showed no fluorine content.