ACS certification (Attestation de Conformite Sanitaire) is a compulsory certification by the French Ministry of Health for all products in contact with the population’s drinking water, with testing requirements mainly referring to the standards issued by the French standards association AFNOR (Association Francaise de Normalisation).

The French Ministry of Health (Ministere de la Sante) requires sanitary audits and tests of plumbing and sanitary products (like bathroom taps or kitchen taps)that entering France have to prove that the products do not alter the sensory, chemical and microbiological characteristics of the water, in addition, in order to ensure the absolute safety of water quality in the entire water supply system, the revised law adds other indicators, such as pesticides and their related products, foreign substances and toxic substances ( heavy metals, etc.). After the product meets the requirements of the relevant standards, the ACS health certificate is issued before the product can be sold in France through customs.

In order to comply with the revised version of Decree 89-3, adopted on January 3, 1989, all construction materials and products that come into contact with drinking water are listed in the multi-sectoral regulation of May 29, 1997, which specifically stipulates that those products used in residential drinking water transmission buildings and water supply systems must not have any risk of affecting water quality and hygiene. The safety of these products must be verified and audited before they are placed on the market. Therefore, this system of access to the French market prior to the introduction of the products of this drinking water hygiene certification (ACS) was created.

The standards used for ACS certification are the relevant standards set by AFNOR, which has established corresponding safety and health standards for products and materials such as metal glass and ceramics. The toxicity test is used to detect whether the materials and products placed in water precipitation of heavy metals, softeners and stabilizers and other substances, organic testing is used to detect the characteristics of materials, including products in contact with drinking water, the taste, smell and color of water and other indicators; material properties to detect the mechanical properties of materials

According to the XP P41-280 standard issued by the AFNOR, substance transfer tests in water must be conducted at 22±3°C. The items for which ACS tests are requested for finished products include

Chlorinated solvents

Non-chlorinated solvents

GC/MS spectra

Total organic carbon

Taste

pH value

Electrical conductivity as well as chlorine consumption

Note: After the ACS certificate is issued, the manufacturer must report any changes to the tested product components (even if the new material used has an ACS certificate within the validity period) to the issuing organization, which will re-examine and update the ACS certificate accordingly to ensure the validity of the ACS certificate for this product.