Safe children's tableware for babies and children

Children's tableware and everything you want to know about safety and use for your baby and child

Bamboo children's tableware

On February 15, 2021, the NVWA, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, published a report in which they tested kitchen items for the release of formaldehyde for melamine. Melamine is used as a binder in bamboo tableware and must meet the conditions that apply to products that come into contact with food, as described in Regulation (EU) No 10/2011.

If 100% melamine is not used as binding material or if a mixture is secretly used without mentioning this on the packaging, these formaldehyde values ​​may be higher than legally permitted.

Incorrect composition listing of bamboo tableware

The NVWA found quite rightly that the composition was not or incorrectly stated on the packaging, which is due to the buyers or brands, because they are responsible for correct labelling, and knowledge is absolutely necessary because if you, as a buyer, are not on the are aware of the rules, how can you ensure that your products comply with the legislation? Let alone that the products have been tested according to all applicable standards?

Why did the NVWA not take preventive action?

If all brands and white labels had treated bamboo tableware exactly like 100% melamine tableware, then bamboo tableware might still have existed? The NVWA could have acted much better preventively from the start that bamboo tableware became so popular and was imported to Europe and the Netherlands. If they had treated this "new" bamboo material as they treated melamine at the time, none of this would have been necessary.

Why has the NVWA not taken preventive action for years? They can see exactly which products and materials are imported and sold, because nothing enters Europe without correct HS codes, also known as statistics codes and documentation. Bamboo articles have been widely imported and sold since 2016 and where has the NVWA been all these years? Was the safety of our children not an issue then?

9% of wrong bamboo items determine that no one can sell bamboo tableware anymore

The NVWA will only start an investigation in 2019, they will test 55 products at shops and online shops and 50 products will meet all values ​​and 5 products will not be 9% of the articles they have tested. That does not mean that 9% of all bamboo products sold are not okay and that all bamboo tableware we sold to you from LIEWOOD, Konges Slojd and other major brands belongs to the 9% of not approved anything but that.

In the Scandinavian countries they have handled this much better, the local NVWA has clearly communicated that a recall action was not necessary, they opted for good information and peace of mind. In the Netherlands, there was a call to throw all bamboo services in the trash instead of informing the consumer correctly. The NVWA should have taken preventive action immediately, as they did with melamine at the time, you had to register every melamine order with the NVWA and randomly tested orders, which is preventive and that would have been fair to all brands that did all tests and values ​​properly. were in order.

Melamine children's tableware

Is still safe to use NVWA advises not to use it for hot food and drinks for children between 0 and 3 years. Melamine tableware is still one of the strongest tableware that can take a beating, but melamine tableware can also break when dropped. Melamine is suitable for the dishwasher, more info on that later, and not for the microwave. All the melamine baby and children's tableware that we sell at PSikhouvanjou complies with the legislation that applies within Europe

Silicone children's tableware

A relatively new material for crockery is silicone, silicone is slightly flexible, does not break easily, is durable and can in most cases be used in the microwave and in any case in the dishwasher. For children's tableware, silicone is a perfect material free of BPA and because it is softer, it is also ideal for baby spoons, great for teething.

FDA silicone versus LFGB silicone also called platinum silicone

Silicone is a synthetic rubber that is bound by silicon and contains oxygen, it is popular because it is wear-resistant and can withstand high and low temperatures. There are no known health risks from using silicone tableware and silicone does not react with food or drink and does not produce hazardous fumes.

In America and Australia FDA silicone is the standard (Food and Drug Administration) but these are not sufficient for Europe, when you buy silicone tableware in the Netherlands, it must comply with Regulation 1935/5004/EC and when you buy silicone tableware in France or Germany it must be made of LFGB silicone, Lebensmittel-und Futtermittelgestetzbuch.

LFGB silicone has been tested much more extensively and intensively and the standard is much higher than FDA silicone , which is why it is also known as platinum silicone. The raw material price difference between FDA and LFGB is 25%, LFGB silicone is more durable, no smell and no taste, perfect for a children's tableware.
You understand that we would like the NVWA to only allow LFGB silicone for the Netherlands, because the 25% represents extra safety for our children. Check whether your silicone tableware is made of LFGB silicone or ask. All the silicone tableware we sell is LFGB and therefore the best you could wish for. Hopefully the NVWA will monitor this new silicone material preventively because, as you now know, one silicone tableware is not the other.

PLA children's tableware the replacement for bamboo children's tableware

In 2017 we were already working on making PLA children's tableware, at the time this material was only used in Japan and Tawain for baby tableware, those first samples of PLA tableware are still in our "sample" cupboard. PLA was so expensive at the time that this still unknown PLA material would make it unaffected by the high price.

Due to the issue with bamboo tableware, the development of PLA tableware has gained momentum. PLA is the only bioplastic that is not made on the basis of oil, but on the basis of renewable plant resources based on lactic acid obtained from agricultural crops. PLA is completely biodegradable and free of BPA. The PLA granulate is made from agricultural products and can be processed into safe, sustainable products that leave a smaller ecological footprint than virgin plastic. PLA tableware is microwave safe and dishwasher safe and is safe for contact with food.
LIEWOOD is the first to launch a PLA children's tableware set on the market.

You ask about PLA tableware

Is PLA tableware sustainable and safe with regard to microplastics?

We have searched for a long time and read a lot, but we cannot say with 100% certainty that PLA does not create microplastics, only the particles are made of a vegetable plastic and not based on oil.

Is it better than silicone dishes or does it make no difference?

PLA tableware is a sustainable replacement for bamboo tableware, silicone tableware is a synthetic rubber tableware and has completely different properties. See also the explanation above about silicone tableware.

Can you cut on it? Or it scratches easily

Yes you can cut on it, PLA tableware is really hard, but just like with porcelain you will eventually see scratches

Silicone crockery in the dishwasher often smells like detergent, is that also the case here?

The right LFGB silicone does not smell or taste, most dishwasher tablets or powders contain a lot of phosphates, bleach and acids that affect your crockery. We recommend using Ecover dishwasher tablets , which are less aggressive and much better for the environment.

Will this dry in the dishwasher?

Melamine, silicone and PLA do not retain heat like ceramics, porcelain or metal and will therefore take a little longer to dry. When you put the dishwasher on when it's done and let the dishes air dry, all those dishes come out of the dishwasher dry.