Sourcing cutlery, spoons and forks from China
Spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake servers, fish knives, butter knives, sugar tongs and similar kitchen or tableware from China pay 8% UK duty in stainless steel, 4% in other base metals, with no anti-dumping duty. Cutlery touches food, so it needs food contact evidence, and steel grade decides rust resistance. Cambridge China Bridge sources it.
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Duty by material
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, sets of stainless steel spoons, forks and similar articles carried 8% duty on goods from China, single stainless steel articles 8%, and articles of other base metal 4%, with no anti-dumping measure.
Table knives with cutting blades are in heading 8211, not 8215; confirm the commodity code for mixed sets.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sets of stainless steel articles | 8215 10 30 00 | 8% | None |
| Other sets of stainless steel | 8215 20 10 00 | 8% | None |
| Single stainless steel articles | 8215 99 10 00 | 8% | None |
| Single articles of other base metal | 8215 99 90 00 | 4% | None |
Food contact
Under the retained food contact framework regulation, cutlery must not transfer its constituents to food in quantities that could endanger health. Ask for migration tests for metals such as nickel and chromium on stainless steel, and check coatings and plastic handles; see food contact materials. For food contact considerations when sourcing hand-operated tools, see our manual kitchen gadgets guide.
Grade and finish
Specify steel grade (18/10 or 18/0, for example), thickness, finish (mirror or satin), weight per piece and handle material. Dishwasher resistance and rust tests on samples show whether the grade is what was promised.
Worked duty example
Illustrative example, not a quote: 10,000 stainless steel spoons under 8215 99 10 00, invoiced at £3,000 free on board, with £400 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £3,400. Duty at 8% is £272. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £3,672, so it is £734.40. Import taxes total £1,006.40; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £272 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.
Inspection checklist
Material: steel grade checked against a material certificate and by chemical analysis of a sample, with cutlery specified to BS EN ISO 8442-1 for materials and BS EN ISO 8442-2 for stainless steel and silver-plated table cutlery, including the corrosion resistance test in that standard.
Food contact: release of metals such as nickel, chromium and manganese tested by an accredited lab with a food simulant under conditions representing use, backed by a declaration of compliance under retained Regulation 1935/2004, with coated or plastic-handled pieces tested separately.
Finish and packing: weight per piece checked against the specification, edges, tines and bowls checked by hand for burrs, polish and logo etching compared with the approved sample, dishwasher cycles run on samples from bulk, and set completeness and gift box fit checked on cartons sampled to ISO 2859-1.
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What goes wrong
The most common cutlery failure is grade substitution: 201 or 410 steel supplied against an 18/10 order. It looks the same when new but spots and pits after a few dishwasher cycles. A magnet is not a reliable test, so ask for a material certificate and have a sample analysed. Burrs left from cutting and polishing scratch mouths and hands, and thin gauge bends at the neck.
At inspection, weigh pieces against the specified weight, check edges and tines for burrs by hand, compare polish and logo etching across the lot, and run a dishwasher or salt spray test on samples from bulk. Check set completeness and gift box fit before packing.
Inspection
At inspection, check edges, polish, set completeness, weight and gift box packing.
Cambridge China Bridge sources stainless steel cutlery and serving utensils, with grades, food contact tests and packing settled before the order. See how our sourcing service works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on cutlery from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, stainless steel spoons, forks and sets carried 8% duty from China, and other base metal articles 4%.
Are table knives in heading 8215?
No. Knives with cutting blades are in heading 8211.
What food contact testing does cutlery need?
Migration tests for metals such as nickel and chromium, plus checks on coatings and handles.
What does 18/10 mean?
Stainless steel with about 18% chromium and 10% nickel, which resists rust better than 18/0.
Sources
What most often fails: Kitchen and cooking accessories
UK OPSS + EU / EEA Safety Gate (alerts counted separately in each system) · China-origin alerts over the 24 calendar month coverage window(2024-12 – 2026-11) · 59
Combined counts are alerts from both systems, not unique products across markets. Each source uses its own publication window; the same product may appear in both. · OPSS: 2024-12 – 2026-11 · Safety Gate: 2024-12 – 2026-11
- Fire: 18
- Burns: 17
- Chemical: 15
Most-cited regulations
- Low Voltage Directive: 18
- General Product Safety Regulations 2005: 12
- General Product Safety Regulation: 11
Checks to ask the factory for
- Ask for product-specific flammability or overheating test evidence from a competent laboratory.
- Confirm the specified battery, charger and thermal protection components where applicable.
- Ask how component substitutions and production heat-test results are recorded.
Questions for due diligence, not a certification checklist or a guarantee of compliance. Select the applicable standards and tests with a competent laboratory.
The current calendar month is partial. These are published alerts, safety reports and recalls, not a measure of all products sold or a recall rate. Hong Kong is reported separately.
All recall dataContains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OPSS, GOV.UK product safety alerts)
Source: European Commission, Safety Gate, English XML (en), extracted 2026-11-09. XML distribution: CC0. Cambridge China Bridge analysis.