FprEN 14392

FprEN 14392 is a CEN draft European Standard for anodised aluminium and aluminium alloy products intended for contact with food. It specifies requirements for coloured or uncoloured anodic oxidation coatings on wrought and cast products, including the bath chemistry, sealing, and coating properties that matter to manufacturers, suppliers, and purchasers.

What does FprEN 14392 specify?

FprEN 14392 specifies the requirements for anodic oxidation coatings on aluminium and aluminium alloy products used in contact with food. It covers both coloured and uncoloured coatings on wrought and cast products, and it focuses on the coating process and the resulting coating properties.

The document is organized into clauses on scope, normative references, terms and definitions, ordering information, substrate composition, anodization bath composition, sealing, and demonstration of conformity. Annex A gives A-deviations.

The scope is narrow in a practical sense: it is about anodised food-contact products, not general anodising. Dyestuffs and pigments are outside the requirements, while metallic deposits produced by electrolytic colouring are included.

What are the key requirements of FprEN 14392?

Materials and anodization bath

Clause 5 requires the aluminium or aluminium alloy used for products intended for contact with food to comply with EN 601 or EN 602, as applicable. In practice, the base material has to be the right food-contact grade before anodising starts.

Clause 6 requires anodization to be carried out in a diluted aqueous solution of one or more listed acids, including sulfuric, sulfomaleic, sulfosalicylic, oxalic, sulfophthalic and phosphoric acid. This tells the producer which bath chemistry is within the scope of the standard.

Sealing requirements

Clause 7 states that the anodic oxidation coating shall be sealed unless the coating was produced in a bath containing only diluted phosphoric acid, or unless another organic or inorganic coating will be applied before use in contact with food. For the reader, this means sealing is normally part of the process and must be planned unless one of those exceptions applies.

Clause 7.2 requires sealing in distilled or demineralized water, with appropriate additives if used. The inspection certificate has to confirm that the additives and their concentrations comply with current legal requirements.

Clause 7.3 says the sealing parameters, especially temperature, pH, treatment time, and additive type and concentration, shall be chosen to reduce absorption, improve chemical resistance, and minimize migration of potentially hazardous additives. In practice, the sealing process has to be controlled, not left as an unspecified shop-floor step.

Clause 7.4 requires a suitable quality assurance system to monitor sealing quality. For routine control, EN ISO 2143 and EN ISO 2931 are used, and EN ISO 3210 is used for calibration purposes. That gives producers a defined way to check whether sealing is working consistently.

Ordering and conformity

Clause 4 requires the order document to identify this standard and to state any requirement for the periodicity of inspection certificates. This matters because buyer and supplier have to agree how evidence of conformity will be supplied.

Clause 8 requires anodising to be carried out within a quality assurance system that allows traceability of each delivered lot to the relevant production parameters from Clauses 5 to 7. The manufacturer shall also issue an inspection certificate "3.1" according to EN 10204, either for each lot or periodically, by agreement and for a period not exceeding twelve months.

What terms does FprEN 14392 define?

• Anodic oxidation coating - a coating made by an electrolytic oxidation process, with protective, decorative or functional properties.
• Sealing - a hydrothermal treatment applied after anodising to reduce porosity and absorption in the coating.
• Order document - the document or set of documents agreed between supplier and purchaser at the time of ordering.
• Inspection certificate "3.1" - the EN 10204 certificate used to state compliance of delivered products with this standard.
• A-deviation - a national deviation caused by regulations, where the national rule temporarily replaces the European Standard provision.

Who uses FprEN 14392?

FprEN 14392 is used by producers of anodised aluminium and aluminium alloy products for food contact, especially when they need to control coating chemistry, sealing, and conformity documentation. It is also used by suppliers and purchasers who agree ordering details and inspection certificates.

Quality managers, production engineers, and inspection bodies use it to define process controls, traceability, and the checks needed for routine control and calibration. It is relevant in the aluminium products sector and in materials and articles intended for contact with foodstuffs.

What changed in FprEN 14392 from the previous edition?

FprEN 14392 will supersede EN 14392:2007. The foreword states one significant technical change: withdrawn EN normative references have been replaced by EN ISO replacing documents.

Which standards are used with FprEN 14392?

• EN 601 - gives the chemical composition requirements for castings used in contact with foodstuff.
• EN 602 - gives the chemical composition requirements for wrought semi-finished products used to make articles for contact with foodstuff.
• EN 10204 - provides the inspection document type used for the required "3.1" certificate.
• EN 12258-1 - supplies general aluminium terms and definitions used with the standard.
• EN ISO 7599 - is referenced for defining the product and its properties in ordering information.
• EN ISO 2143 - is used for routine control of sealing quality.
• EN ISO 2931 - is used for routine control of sealing quality.
• EN ISO 3210 - is used for calibration purposes in sealing quality assessment.

What does the FprEN 14392 document contain?

The document contains the requirements that govern food-contact anodising of aluminium and aluminium alloys, plus the terminology and ordering information needed to apply those requirements consistently. It also contains the process rules for substrate composition, anodization bath chemistry, sealing, and conformity demonstration.

Annex A adds national A-deviations, with France listed against Clause 7.1. The main text also points readers to inspection certificates, routine sealing-control methods, and traceability of delivered lots, so the standard supports both production control and documentary proof of conformity.