Mar. 3 – EU: Amendments on contaminant levels in force

FoodProductionDaily.com discusses new EU food regulations in Amendments on contaminant levels in force. Here is a snippet:

Three new EU regulations on contaminant levels in food came into force this month, requiring tougher safety controls in manufacturing plants.

The EU-wide regulations on contaminants are part of the legislative push to increase the safety of the food chain, by cutting down the levels of chemical residues found in products, including those used as pesticides or as part of the processing cycle.

The measures aim to ensure a harmonised approach to the enforcement of contaminants levels across the EU. The regulations aim to reduce uncertainty or dispute in interpreting results against regulatory limits.

Regulation (EC) 1881/2006 sets maximum levels for specific contaminants in foodstuffs, while regulation 1882/2006 sets out the methods testers must use in sampling and analysis for the control of nitrate levels in lettuce and spinach.

The third regulation, 1883/2006, deals with sampling and analysis methods for determining the levels of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in specific foodstuffs.

All three regulations came into force on 1 March, adding to the hygiene laws already in place throughout the EU.

See here for the full article.