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| 18 feb 2006 |
19u16 |
New European limits dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in feed and food published
The European Commission has published new maximum limits for the sum of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in food and feeding stuff. These limits are added to the existing maximum limits for dioxins in food and feeding stuff.
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Regulation 466/2001/EC setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in food now contains the following limits for oils and fats for human consumption:
| Food |
Maximum levels
Sum of dioxins and furans
(WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ)
(EXISTING) |
Maximum levels
Sum of dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs
(WHO-PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ)
(NEW) |
Method of sampling and performance criteria for methods of analysis |
| Oils and Fats |
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Directive 2002/69/EC |
| - Vegetable oil and fats |
0.75 pg/g fat |
1.5 pg/g fat |
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| - Animal Fat |
| - of ruminants |
3.0 pg/g fat |
4.5 pg/g fat |
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| - of poultry and farmed game |
2.0 pg/g fat |
4.0 pg/g fat |
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| - of pigs |
1.0 pg/g fat |
1.5 pg/g fat |
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| - mixed animal fats |
2.0 pg/g fat |
3.0 pg/g fat |
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| - Marine oil |
2.0 pg/g fat |
10.0 pg/g fat |
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For oils and fats for animal feed the following limits are introduced in Directive 2002/32/EC on undesirable substances in animal feed:
| Feed |
Maximum levels
Sum of dioxins and furans
(WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ)
(EXISTING) |
Maximum levels
Sum of dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs
(WHO-PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ)
(NEW) |
| Oils and Fats |
| Vegetable oils and by-products |
0.75 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
1.5 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
| Animal fat |
2.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
3.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
| Fish oil |
6.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
24.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
The new limits for the sum of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in food shall apply as of 4 November 2006. They shall not apply to products that were placed on the market before 4 November 2006. The burden of proving when products were placed on the market shall be borne by the food business operator. Before the new limits for feeding stuff enter into force, they have to be implemented by the member states in their national legislation. The member states have to do this before 4 November 2006.
The limits for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs will be reviewed before 31 December 2008 with the aim to further reduce them.
New action levels
Next to the introduction of the limits for dioxin-like PCBs, the European Commission has also reviewed the so called action levels for dioxins and introduced new action levels for dioxin-like PCBs in food and feeding stuff. Action levels are set to reduce the dioxin intake of the European Community population. They were first set in the Commission Recommendation of 4 March 2002 on the reduction of the presence of dioxins, furans and PCBs in feeding stuff and food stuff. They are meant as a tool for competent authorities and operators to highlight those cases where it is appropriate to identify a source of contamination and to take measures to reduce or eliminate it.
The newly published Commission Recommendation of 6 February 2006 replaces the action limits for dioxins in food stuff in the Commission Recommendation of 4 March 2002 and introduces new action levels for dioxin-like PCBs in food stuff. The following action limits apply for dioxins and the sum of dioxin-like PCBs in oils for human consumption. They shall apply as of 14 November 2006.
| Food |
Action level dioxins + furans
(WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ)
(OLD) |
Action level dioxins + furans
(WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ)
(NEW) |
Action level dioxin-like PCBs
(WHO-PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ)
(NEW) |
| Oils and Fats |
| - Vegetable oil and fats |
0,5 pg/g fat |
0,5 pg/g fat |
0.5 pg/g fat |
| - Animal fat |
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| - of ruminants |
2 pg/g fat |
1.5 pg/g fat |
1.0 pg/g fat |
| - of poultry and farmed game |
1.5 pg/g fat |
1.5 pg/g fat |
1.5 pg/g fat |
| - of pigs |
0.6 pg/g fat |
0.6 pg/g fat |
0.5 pg/g fat |
| - mixed animal fats |
1.5 pg/g fat |
1.5 pg/g fat |
0.75 pg/g fat |
| - Marine oil |
1.5 pg/g fat |
1.5 pg/g fat |
6.0 pg/g fat |
Commission Directive 2006/13/EC replaces the action levels in the Commission Recommendation of 4 March 2002 for feeding stuff by action levels in Directive 2002/32/EC. Besides this, it introduces new action levels for the sum of dioxins and dioxins-like PCBs in feeding stuff. The action limit for dioxins in vegetable oil for feed has not been changed. The action limit for dioxins in animal fat for feed has been lowered from 1.2 ng to 1.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg and the one for fish oil for feed has been raised from 4.5 to 5.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg. Before these action limits can enter into force, they have to be implemented by the member states in their national legislation. The member states have to do this before 4 November 2006. For products intended for animal consumption the following action limits will apply:
| Feed |
Action level dioxins + furans
(WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ)
(OLD) |
Action level dioxins + furans
(WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ)
(NEW) |
Action level dioxin-like PCBs
(WHO-PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ)
(NEW) |
| Oils and Fats |
| Vegetable oils and their by-products |
0.5 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
0.5 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
0.5 ng WHO-PCB-TEQ/kg |
| Animal fat |
1.2 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
1.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
0.75 ng WHO-PCB-TEQ/kg |
| Fish oil |
4.5 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
5.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
14.0 ng WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/kg |
Directive 2002/32/EC prescribes that in case action levels are exceeded operators and governments should identify the of source of contamination and take appropriate measures to reduce or eliminate the source of contamination, if possible. For fish oil, this is different. Since the background level of dioxin in some areas is close to or above the action level it will often not be necessary to perform an investigation into the source of contamination. However, in cases where the action level is exceeded all information, such as sampling period, geographical origin, fish species etc. must be recorded with a view to future measures to manage the presence of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds in these materials for animal nutrition.
For more information please contact Marieke Leegwater, [email protected], tel. 070 3195136.
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