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| August 25th, 2011 |
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Number 05 |
New limits for PAHs in oils and fats
MVO Code of Practice on segregation
Change in action levels of dioxins, furans and PCBs
New limits for PAHs in oils and fats
On August 19, 2011, Regulation (EU) No 835/2011 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This regulation amends Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in foodstuffs. New limits for the sum of four PAHs are introduced, namely benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and chrysene. The regulation will apply from 1 September 2012.
For coconut oil a limit of 20 ppb will apply and for other vegetable oils and fats a limit of 10 ppb for the sum of the four PAHs. The existing limit for benzo(a)pyrene of 2 ppb for oils and fats will also continue to exist. This change is a result of the EFSA opinion of June 9, 2008 indicating that benzo(a)pyrene is not a suitable marker for the occurrence of PAHs in foods, whereas a system of four specific PAHs substances is a suitable indicator of PAH in food.
MVO Code of Practice on segregation
On June 1st this year, the MVO Code of Practice on dioxin came into effect. This code includes amongst others the development of specific guidelines by MVO for fat compound companies regarding physical separation.
This MVO Code of Practice on segregation has been recently completed and has been published on the MVO website.
Change in action levels of dioxins, furans and PCBs
The European Commission has decided to change the action levels for dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs. In striving to reduce the presence of these substances in food and feed, these action limits are a tool for competent authorities and operators to take measures in order to further reduce or eliminate these substances. Under the new Recommendation (2011/516/EU), which applies from 1 January 2012, the action levels for most vegetable and animal oils and fats have been removed.
In the present Recommendation 2006/88/EU, different action levels for vegetable oils, various types of animal fats and marine oils destined for food are listed. Experience has now shown that in some foodstuffs when the action levels are exceeded, it is not useful to perform further investigations. In these cases the exceeding of the action level is not related to a specific source of contamination that can be reduced or eliminated, but to the overall environmental pollution. Hence, the whole category of oils and fats in the new recommendation has been dropped. Instead, a new category 'mixed fats' has been introduced with action limits of 1,00 pg/g fat for the sum of dioxins and furans and 0,75 pg /g fat for dioxin-like PCBs.
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