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New European Contaminants Regulation (EU) 2023/915 entered into force on 25 May 2023

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Former Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 is repealed

May 2023. On 5 May 2023, with Regulation (EU) 2023/915 the recast of the European Contaminants Regulation was published. This new version had been planned for several years in order to structure the text of the regulation more clearly and reduce the high number of footnotes after numerous amending regulations had been published since 2006.

The regulation entered into forth on the day 20 after its publication, namely 25 May 2023. Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 was repealed at the same time.

Key contents and main changes at a glance:

  • With Article 1, a new article for the establishment of definitions was introduced. Terms such as “food”, “food business operator”, “placing on the market” and “final consumer” relate to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002; terms such as “processing”, unprocessed products” and “processed products” to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.
  • Article 2 specifies, amongst other aspects, that food exceeding the maximum levels listed in Annex I shall not be placed on the market and shall not be used as raw material in food or as an ingredient in food.
  • The definition of food categories refers more closely to Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides. In addition to fruits, vegetables and cereals, the corresponding product lists for nuts, oilseeds and spices now also apply.
  • Annex I lists the maximum levels of regulated contaminants. Remarks that relate directly to a specific maximum level and its application are located in a separate column adjacent to the respective maximum level. Thus, the previous 75 footnotes are reduced to 15 footnotes with general definitions resulting in improved reader-friendliness.
  • Annex II is a correlation table with a comparison of the article numbers of old and new regulation.
  • A prohibition on detoxification, previously only applied to foods containing contaminants listed in section 2 of the Annex (mycotoxins), now applies generally to food containing contaminants listed in Annex I (Article 4). This is justified by a lack of scientific knowledge on potential metabolites that could be produced during detoxification.
  • Transitional measures of the previous Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 continue to apply and are explicitly listed in Article 10.

Changes and additions to previous maximum levels

Maximum levels previously established under Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 are generally maintained in the recast.

Important changes regarding specific maximum levels that were not directly included in Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006:

  • Aflatoxins: The maximum levels of aflatoxins also apply to processed foods if they consist at least of 80 % of the corresponding product.
  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): The maximum levels of PAHs for plant-based powders, which are used for the preparation of beverages, do not apply to instant coffee and soluble coffee. The maximum levels for PAHs for baby food apply to the ready-to-use product.
  • Melamine: A maximum level in liquid instant formula is added to the existing maximum level for melamine in powdered infant formula.

Contaminants with established maximum levels:

  • Mycotoxins: Aflatoxins B, G and M1, Ochratoxin A, Patulin, Deoxynivalenol, Zearalenone, Citrinin, Ergot sclerotia and Ergot alkaloids
  • Plant toxins: Erucic acid, Tropane alkaloids, Hydrocyanic acid, Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, Opium alkaloids, Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
  • Metals and elements: Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic, Tin
  • Halogenated persistent organic pollutants: Dioxins and PCBs, Perfluoroalkyl substances
  • Process contaminants: PAHs, 3-MCPD, Sum of 3-MCPD and 3-MCPD fatty acid esters, Glycidyl fatty acid esters
  • Other contaminants: Nitrates, Melamine, Perchlorate

Analysis of contaminants

The experts of the various Competence Centres of the Eurofins Laboratory Network for Food and Feed Analysis in Germany have many years of experience in the analysis, evaluation and assessment of all legally regulated contaminants in food and feed. Participation in various analytical working groups and in-house R&D teams ensure that the laboratories are always up to date in the dynamic field of contaminants analysis, when new substances or new maximum levels come into focus. More recent articles on specific contaminants can be found on the right side of this page.

Any questions left regarding the analysis or maximum levels of contaminants?

Visit our webpage Analysis of Food &Feed or contact our experts Sabrina Hansen and Carina Kellner.