Knives, cutlery and blade tools

• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 — GPSR
• Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 — food contact
• National weapons law restricting certain blades
• Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 — REACH

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers and sellers outside the Union placing knives and cutlery on the EU market. Product law is straightforward; national weapons law is not, and certain blade types are prohibited or restricted in many member states with criminal consequences.

Thresholds and exemptions

Weapons restrictions are national and turn on blade type, length and opening mechanism. Flick knives, butterfly knives and disguised blades are prohibited in most member states.

What must appear on the label

Manufacturer and responsible person details, batch identification, the food contact indication for kitchen items, and warnings where the product presents a cutting risk requiring guidance.

Marketplace fields

Marketplaces restrict blade sales by country and age, and shipments of prohibited types are seized. Age verification at delivery is required in several member states.

Documentation you must hold

Technical documentation and risk analysis, food contact declaration of compliance with migration data for kitchen knives and cutlery, REACH evidence for handle materials and coatings, and country-by-country legal screening for blade types.

Standards and testing

Migration testing for food contact surfaces including handles where they contact food, corrosion resistance, and mechanical testing for locking mechanisms.

Language requirements

Warnings and use instructions in the language of each member state of sale.

When it applies

Before the product is made available.

How long records are kept

Ten years.

What happens if you do not comply

Product law penalties are the lesser risk. Shipping a prohibited blade type into a member state can be a criminal offence for the seller as well as the buyer, and customs seizes routinely.

Who enforces it

Market surveillance and food safety authorities, customs, and police for weapons law.

Where the boundary lies

This is the clearest case where legal sale depends on the destination rather than on the product: an ordinary folding knife lawful in one member state is a prohibited weapon in another. Age restrictions on sale are national and enforced at delivery.

Questions we are asked

Can we ship knives across the EU?

Not uniformly. Blade type, length and opening mechanism restrictions differ by member state, and several prohibit types that are ordinary elsewhere.

Do kitchen knives need food contact documentation?

Yes, for the blade and any handle surface contacting food, with migration data for the materials used.