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Selling ceramics and homeware to the EU: GPSR and food contact rules
By Karim El Achaq, founder of EUReady · Last updated: 6 July 2026
- Ceramics sit at the intersection of two EU regimes: the GPSR for all consumer products, and food-contact law the moment a piece is meant to touch food.
- Food-contact ceramics fall under the Framework Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 and the Ceramic Directive 84/500/EEC, which sets lead and cadmium migration limits.
- Decorative-only pieces must be clearly marked not for food contact.
- Under the GPSR, every listing needs manufacturer identity, an EU responsible person for non-EU studios, and the relevant warnings.
Ceramics sit at the intersection of two EU regimes. As consumer products, they fall under GPSR and its listing requirements. And the moment a mug, bowl or plate is meant to touch food, the EU food contact rules kick in, with specific limits on lead and cadmium release from ceramic surfaces.
Small pottery studios selling into the EU usually have neither: no food-contact documentation for their glazes, and no GPSR information on their listings. Both are fixable with a bit of method.
What every ceramics and homeware listing must show under GPSR
Since 13 December 2024, the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 sets rules for products sold online to EU consumers. Article 19 is the part that hits your product pages directly: every online listing must display, before purchase, the following information.
- Manufacturer identity: the name (or trade name) of the manufacturer, a postal address and an electronic address (email). If you make the products yourself under your own brand, that is you.
- EU responsible person: if the manufacturer is not established in the EU, the name and contact details of the responsible economic operator located inside the EU.
- Product identification: enough information to identify the product, such as a picture, the product type and any batch or serial reference.
- Warnings and safety information: in a language easily understood by consumers of the country you sell to, not only in English.
The same information also has to travel with the physical product (on the item, its packaging or an accompanying document), so your labels and your Shopify pages need to match.
What food contact rules apply to ceramics?
Ceramics meant to touch food fall under EU food-contact law, which demands safe, traceable materials and caps lead and cadmium release. The key instruments:
- Framework Regulation (EC) 1935/2004: materials intended to contact food must be safe and traceable, and the wine-glass-and-fork symbol or the words 'for food contact' identify them.
- Ceramic Directive 84/500/EEC: sets migration limits for lead and cadmium from ceramic articles; a declaration of compliance should exist for tableware. Stricter EU limits are in the pipeline, so choose glazes accordingly.
- Decorative items: if a piece is decorative only, say so explicitly (not suitable for food contact) on the listing and ideally on the piece.
What safety notes apply to homeware?
Homeware warnings cover food-contact suitability, dishwasher and microwave limits, heat and flame notes, and breakage risks. Typical notes:
- Not suitable for food contact (decorative pieces).
- Not dishwasher or microwave safe, where applicable.
- Hot surface and open flame notes for oil burners and candle holders.
- Breakage and sharp edge warnings for fragile decor in homes with children.
What must the listing show under GPSR?
As for all consumer products, the GPSR requires the listing to show the manufacturer identity with postal and electronic address, an EU responsible person for non-EU studios, product identification, and the relevant warnings in the buyer's language.
Do not forget the packaging: EPR applies too
GPSR covers the product. The box, mailer, tape and filler you ship it in fall under a different set of rules: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging. If you ship ceramics and homeware to consumers in Germany you must be registered in the LUCID packaging register before your first sale, and in France you need a unique identifier via an eco-organisation such as Citeo (see our France EPR guide). Marketplaces already verify these numbers and block sellers who do not have them.
How to make your Shopify store compliant, step by step
- List what you sell to the EU. GPSR applies to new, used, repaired and handmade ceramics and homeware alike. There is no minimum volume: one parcel to an EU customer is enough to be in scope.
- Gather the manufacturer information. Your business name, postal address and email if you are the maker; your supplier's details if you resell.
- Appoint an EU responsible person if you are outside the EU. Authorised representative services exist from roughly 150 to 500 euros per year. Their details go on your listings and labels. Our responsible person guide explains the options.
- Write the warnings and safety information relevant to your products, and translate them for the markets you sell to.
- Add all of it to every product page. On Shopify this is usually done with metafields plus a theme block, so the information displays cleanly on each listing.
- Sort out packaging EPR for Germany and France if you ship there.
Doing this by hand across a full catalog is where most sellers give up: it is repetitive, error-prone and easy to leave half-finished. That is the exact problem EUReady automates: scan, see what is missing per product, fix it across the catalog in one click.
Check your store for free
EUReady scans every product in your Shopify store, shows you exactly what GPSR and EPR info is missing, and fills it in for you. Join the free beta and be first in line when we launch on the Shopify App Store.
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Frequently asked questions
My glazes are labelled food safe by the supplier. Is that enough?
It is a good start but not the whole story: firing temperature and glaze combinations affect migration. For tableware sold regularly, a lead and cadmium migration test of your fired pieces is the robust way to back your claim.
Do I need CE marking for ceramics?
No, tableware and decor are not CE categories. The applicable rules are GPSR plus the food contact legislation for anything meant to touch food.
What about vintage ceramics?
Old glazes are a known lead risk. If you resell vintage tableware to EU buyers, either verify it or clearly sell it as decorative, not for food use.
Official sources
This guide is general information for online sellers, based on publicly available EU legislation. It is not legal advice. Regulations evolve and national rules differ: for decisions that matter to your business, confirm with a qualified professional or the official sources linked above.