Beverage dispensing and brewing equipment

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 — Machinery
• Directive 2014/35/EU — Low Voltage
• Directive 2014/68/EU — Pressure Equipment for gas systems
• Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 — food contact
• Directive (EU) 2020/2184 — drinking water contact

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers outside the Union placing dispensing and brewing equipment on the EU market. CO2 systems bring the pressure equipment rules, and every product-contacting surface brings food contact and, where mains water is used, drinking water contact requirements.

Thresholds and exemptions

Pressure equipment thresholds apply to the gas circuit. Food contact applies from the first product-contacting component.

What must appear on the label

CE marking with the notified body number where the pressure category requires it, manufacturer and EU representative details, model and serial number, rated data, maximum working pressure, and the food contact indication for wetted parts.

Marketplace fields

Trade buyers require the declaration of conformity and the food contact declarations, and hospitality operators need them for their own food business registration.

Documentation you must hold

EU declaration of conformity, technical file with the machinery risk assessment and the pressure documentation, food contact declarations of compliance with migration data for tubing, seals and dispensing heads, and where mains water is used, the drinking water contact documentation.

Standards and testing

EN 60335-2-75 for dispensing appliances, pressure testing for the gas circuit, migration testing at the temperatures and contact times of use, and material compliance for drinking water contact under the recast Directive.

Language requirements

Installation, operation and cleaning instructions in the language of each member state, since cleaning is a food safety control.

When it applies

Before placing on the market. The drinking water material requirements phase in from December 2026.

How long records are kept

Ten years.

What happens if you do not comply

Withdrawal, and food safety authorities can order equipment out of service where hygiene or material compliance is inadequate. CO2 asphyxiation incidents in cellars have driven attention to installation instructions.

Who enforces it

Market surveillance authorities, food safety authorities, and notified bodies for the pressure elements.

Where the boundary lies

Tubing and seals are the components most often undocumented, yet they are in permanent contact with the beverage. The CO2 side is pressure equipment, which many manufacturers of bar equipment do not anticipate.

Questions we are asked

Do beer lines need food contact documentation?

Yes, tubing and every wetted component require a declaration of compliance with migration data for the beverage type and temperature.

Is a CO2 regulator pressure equipment?

Depending on pressure and volume it can be, and the assembly as a whole must be assessed rather than each part in isolation.