Cookware must be safe. If it is unsafe it may lead to injury, loss of income or even death.

Ceramic ware, glassware and vitreous enamel ware are referred to in the Ceramic Articles in Contact with Food Regulations 2006. These Regulations require that the product complies with BS 6748, which tests for the release of lead and cadmium from the product.

The safety of cookware is also controlled by the General Product Safety Regulations. These Regulations provide a legal framework to ensure that a producer or distributor supplies a safe product.

As referred to above BS 6748 is applicable to certain products; however, BS 7557 specifies limits for metal release from painted surfaces liable to come into contact with foodstuffs. This standard therefore is more general in that it could apply to any cookware with a painted surface. Another standard directly applicable to cookware is BS EN 12983-1. This standard contains a number of tests and specifications that relate to the safety of cookware.

Listed below is a selection of tests, relating to the safety of cookware, that can be carried out by the Leicestershire Scientific Services