New German regulations for materials in contact with drinking water
On March 21, 2019, the German Environment Agency (UBA) has published new regulations with respect to materials and products in contact with drinking water that are sold on the German market. These ‘Assessment criteria for plastics and other organic materials in contact with drinking water (KTW-BWGL)’ will officially replace the previous recommendations, known as KTW Guideline, Coating Guideline and Lubricant Guideline as from March 21, 2021.
This means that after transition period of two years current KTW, coating and lubricant test certificates will lose their validity. New certificates must be issued by accredited certification bodies, and a yearly inspection including regular sampling and testing will be demanded for the majority of the products.
Important change regarding KTW-BWGL
The most important change is that it becomes legally binding that a large number of products must be certified according to a so called System 1+ Certification scheme. System 1+ means: a conformity declaration based on initial testing of the products, initial inspection at the production location and continuous surveillance plus regular testing after granting the conformity declaration.
Be prepared: (pre) certify your products
Kiwa has applied to the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS) for accreditation according to EN ISO/IEC 17065. As a certifier in accordance with the new UBA Recommendation on the Conformity assessment of the Drinking Water Hygienic Suitability of Products, we are therefore already able to (pre) certify your products according to the new regulations or convert your existing (Kiwa) approvals towards the new regulations.
Contact us
Do you have questions about the new legislation or how we can help you? We are glad to work out a proposal together with you in order to smoothly convert your product approval(s) towards the new KTW-BWGL regulation. Please contact us via the form on this page or contact your Kiwa account manager.
More information
- The new evaluation criteria can be found on the UBA website.
- Read more about our water services.