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PPE DIRECTIVES & APPROVALS 


CURRENT SITUATION

For clarity its important to understand that since 1st January 2021, a CE mark granted by UK Notified Bodies is not recognised by the EU. Since then the PPE EU regulation 2016/425 was translated & ammended into UK Law and is therefore now effective in both the UK and EU. Going forward,to legally sell PPE in the UK & EU, it must be gradually dual certified and therefore dual marked with CE & UKCA marks, under the ammended timetable indicated below.

On 01/08/2023 it was announced by The Department for Business and Trade that there is now an indefinate extension for the use and recognition of the CE mark on PPE, in the UK, beyond the end of 2024


   14/11/2022   

On Monday 14th November 2022 the Under Seccratary of State Kevin Hollinrake laid before Parliament the Draft Statutory Instrument  Regulations 2022 ammending the UKCA guidance, previously ammended on June 20th 2022. The main changes are:

1 PPE manufacturers can continue to use the CE as a basis for applying UKCA until 31st December 2024 - so this is a further 2 year extension to the date announce in June 2022

2 The easement allowing the affixment of UKCA and importer details via a label or on accompanying documentation has been extended  till 31st December 2027 again giving a further 2 year extension


   01/06/2022    

UKCA Marking will replace all CE Marking for most PPE products that are or will be placed in the UK Market.   

The date of change for most PPE products is 01 January 2023 and 01 July 2023 for products complying with the  Medical Device Directive

It is the legal resposibility for the Importer/Distributer to implement changes to comply UKCA legislation.



All products listed on our website do/will comply with UKCA legislation prior to 01 January 2023.

The current Certification of our products can be directly viewed/downloaded under the Data Sheet link at the bottom of each Product Page.


BREXIT CONSIDERATIONS


All the European Directives listed below are in force and form part of current UK legislation  

These Directives in association with the relevant CEN European Product Standards form the basis of all regulation of Personal Protective Equipment and Medical Devices in the EU.

However, after the Referendom of 23 June 2016 followed by implementation of Article 50 on 29 March 2017 and susequent extension till 31 October 2019, on the UKs future membership of the EU, the future situation now remains unclear.

However the key points to bear in mind at this stage are:

All CE rules will continue to apply until we have actually left the Single Market

UK influence on the rules will diminish 

CE marking is integral to the Single Market so we will need to apply the rules if we want to trade with the EU

even if UK decides to repeal some of them for internal trade

Essential requirements are heavily integrated into our occupational health and safety regime

Environmental requirements are the ones most likely to be axed


We will continue to keep this site updated as and when new information becomes available



PPE DIRECTIVE 89/686/EEC has now been superceded by 

REGULATION (EU) 2016/425 on Personal Protective Equipment  (Effective 21 April 2018)

Main changes include:

The scope and conclusions are more clearly defined

Increased obligations on importers and distributors

Product Catergories are defined and some products will change catergory

New EC Type Examination Certificates will have maximum validity of 5 years

Current EC Type Examination Certificates will need to be reviewed by 21 April 2023

All Producys must meet latest version of relevant standard

EC declaration of Conformity (or a Web link) shall accompany each product


PPE DIRECTIVE 89/686/EEC   (effective 1995)


All Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) products sold in the UK must meet the requirements of this Directive

Compliance with this Directive is indicated by affixing a CE pictogram

The PPE Directive covers a wide range of safety equipment from head to foot

The Directive classifies PPE into 3 catergories


CATERGORY 1    SIMPLE DESIGN               Products offering protection against hazards of minimal risk

                                                             The manufacturer can self certify products in this catergory

                                                             Protection against superficial mechanical injury, temperatures not

                                                             exceeding 50 C and use of chemicals of weak action only 

                                                             eg  Washing up gloves


CATERGORY 2     INTERMEDIATE DESIGN   Products offering protection against hazards that are not covered

                                                             by Catergory 1 or 3

                                                             The manufacturer is required to submit Notified Body for Type testing                                                                     to an appropriate Standard

                                                             eg  Cut Resistant gloves 


CATERGORY 3      COMPLEX DESIGN        Products offering protection against hazards of serious or mortal risk In                                                                    addition to submission for Type Testing the Product must be                                                                                    manufactured under an assesed quality management system, to                                                                              ensure ongoing production meets the level of initial type testing

                                                            Protection against high & low temp environments <-50C and > 100C

                                                            Protection against Ionising Radiation

                                                            Protection against electric shock and live working

                                                            eg Chemical Resistant gloves 


Product Standards provide a system of evaluating the performance of a product according to stated levels. Pictograms are defined to provide a means of identifying the performance  characteristics and hence its subsequent suitability for the intended application



           PPE DIRECTIVE

           89/686/EEC

           June 1995

            PPE REGULATION

            2016/425

            April 2016 (Transition 2 years)

MEDICAL DEVICE DIRECTIVE


The New Medical Regulation (MDR) EU 2017/745 came into force in the EU (and Northern Ireland due to the provisions in the Exit Agreement) on 26 May 2021.This new Regulation has over 100 additional articles included, mainly to safeguard patient safety, when compared to the old Regulations

Following the UK's withdrawal from the EU 2017/745 has not been implemented in the UK

Therefore the current UK Medical Device Regulation 2002 is based on the now withdrawn EU 93/42/EEC Directive and has been further ammended with additions to encourage a higher level of Patient safety.          This includes strengthened requirements relating to post-market surveillance and Unique Device Indicator, of products 


MEDICAL DEVICE DIRECTIVE 93/42/EEC  (effective 1993)


ammended by MEDICAL DEVICE DIRECTIVE 2007/47/EC

This is the European Directive for regulating Medical Devices for sale in the UK

It is one of a group of 3 Directives that covers all Medical Equipment

Compliance with this Directive is also indicated by affixing a CE pictogram

Some products will meet both the Medical Device (MD) and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directives


Class 1            Low risk                             eg Latex Examination Glove

Class 1m         Low risk 

Class 1s          Low risk                             eg Sterile Latex Examination Gloves

Class IIa          Medium risk                       eg Sterile Surgical Glove

Class !!b          Medium risk

Class 3            High risk


Class 1 Medical Devices are self regulated and compliance is made through a declaration of conformity

All other classes require CE Certification through a Notified Body


            MD DIRECTIVE

            93/42/EEC

            plus AMMENDMENTS


FOOD APPROVAL


European Regulation EC 1935/2004

Materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, in their finished state, are regulated by this Directive

A wide selection of our product range is food safe; suitable for food contact and therefore can be used in a food preperation environment.

The framework of this regulation is to ensure that all all materials coming into contact with food, are tested, to ensure that in normal use, they will not transfer their constituents to food. These constituents could endanger health, cause unacceptable changes to the composition of food or deteriorate its organoleptic properties (Taste. texture, aroma, appearance)

Specific labelling requirements are affixed on packaging and products confirming their suitability with food contact.

Compliance with this regulation is indicated by affixing a food pictogram


European Regulation EC 10/2011

To complete the above General Regulation, specific Directives per material categories have been put into place in order to set the framework of the testing procedures and acceptability levels

            Food Approval Standards summary

PICTOGRAMS


 Download the PDF to view a list of the pictograms used in our product range and most                            commonly found in our industry accompanied with a short description.

             A summary of logos will usually be printed on inners and/or outer packs of our products.