NSF launches pre-assessment services to help manufacturers prepare for EU drinking water rules

With the European Union’s new drinking water regulations set to take effect on January 1, 2027, NSF has introduced a suite of EU-MHR Pre-Assessment Services designed to help manufacturers navigate what it calls the most significant regulatory shift in Europe’s water sector in decades.

The updated European Drinking Water Directive will replace individual national approval schemes across all 27 member states, creating a unified Minimum Health Requirements (EU-MHR) standard for all materials and products that come into contact with drinking water. NSF said the new service is intended to help manufacturers avoid certification delays and testing bottlenecks as demand spikes ahead of the compliance deadline.

“Our EU-MHR Pre-Assessment Services remove the uncertainty by enabling you to prepare for EU-MHR now,” said Nasrin Kashefi, director of Water, North America, NSF, in a press release. “It identifies compliance gaps and gives companies a head start to secure Europe-wide market access.”

The pre-assessment evaluates product formulations, production facilities, and quality systems, and includes testing in European labs under EU-MHR conditions. NSF said the service is applicable to a wide range of water-contact products—pipes, valves, pumps, fittings, gaskets, and other components.

To support upstream suppliers, NSF recently developed Protocol 534 (P534), which verifies the safety and compliance of raw materials and intermediate products early in the manufacturing process. The protocol covers plastic granulates, colorants, stabilizers, fillers, glass fiber mixtures, masterbatches, cementitious material ingredients, epoxy coatings, and other site-applied materials.

Kashefi emphasized that early preparation is essential as the EU transitions from fragmented national rules—such as France’s ACS and Germany’s UBA guidelines—to a single, risk-based certification program requiring independent audits and detailed documentation. “The companies that engage with our pre-assessment services now will be first to market when regulations take effect,” she said.

NSF reports increasing demand from manufacturers aiming to secure European market access before formal certification begins.