Assaying chromium nickel and manganese for specific migrations with a 4%-acetic acid under specific time and temperature related conditions is an obligatory part of the hygienic safety surveillance. Routine surveillance of a larger number of imported cooking utensils has shown the specific migrations to be more or less above the maximum allowances for chromium and/or nickel, and less frequently so for manganese. Further tests with repeated extraction, however, revealed that the levels of all three metals in most of the unfit samples were within the allowed limits. With respect to our findings, and to a longer period of use of the cooking utensils, amendments to the current regulations demanding obligatory testing after repeated extraction seem justified.