. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/211
5 August 2003
(03-4118)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:   Commission of the European Communities, Health & Consumer
Protection Directorate-General.  Directorate E - Food Safety:  Plant Health, Animal Health
and Welfare, International questions
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where
applicable):  Any canned food and/or beverages, including canned baby foods.  ICS 67040
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:
Member States of the European Communities (EC) and third countries exporting the products
concerned to the EC.
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:   SANCO/1034/2002-1
rev.4 Draft Commission Regul ation amending Regulation (EC) N° 466/2001 as regards
inorganic tin in foods (3 pages)
6. Description of content:  This proposal sets harmonized maximum Community levels for
inorganic tin (Sn) in food as follows:
• canned foods other than beverages 200 mg./kg.
• canned beverages 100 mg./kg.
• canned foods for infants and young children, 50 mg./kg.
excluding dried and powdered products
7. Objective and rationale:  [  X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection,
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or  disease, [   ] protect territory from other
damage from pests.  To facilitate trade (some EC memb er States have adopted maximum
levels for inorganic tin in foods creating disparities).
8. International standard, gu ideline or recommendation:
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] Office International des Epizooties,
[   ] International Plant Prot ection Convention, [ X ] None
If an international standard , guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:   The proposed Community measures respond to
the advice of the EU Scientific Committee on F ood (SCF), concurring with the opinion of the
Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) in 2000, that certain levels of inorganictin can cause gastric problems in some indi viduals.  In CODEX, and concerning only
tomatoes, provisional maximum levels of 250 mg./kg. of tin are set for canned tomatoes
(CODEX STAN 13), processed tomato concentr ates (CODEX STAN 57) and tomato juice
preserved exclusively by phys ical means (CODEX STAN 49).G/SPS/N/EEC/211
Page 2
However, this level (i.e. 250 mg./kg.) was found unacceptably high for public health because
it is the same as that which may cause gastri c problems in some individuals, as concluded in
the opinion of the Scientific Committee for F ood (SCF) of the European Union, concurring
with the views of JECFA.
More recently, proposed draft maximum levels of 250 mg./kg. of tin in canned foods other
than beverages and of 200 mg./kg. in canned beverages, was returned to step three
(comments and further consideration) at the 35th Session of the CODEX Committee on Food
Additives and Contaminants (ALINORM 03/12A, § 160 and Appendix XIII).
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  European
Commission Document SANCO/1034/ 2002-1 rev.4 (available in all official EC languages).
When adopted it will be published in the Official Journal available at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/oj/index.html.
10. Proposed date of adoption:   Around November 2003 (at this time it is not possible to
estimate a more specific date)
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   Mid 2004 (at this time it is not possible to estimate a
more specific date)
12. Final date for comments:  Forty five (45) days after the date of notification.  Any scientific
data concerning gastric toxicity, or whatev er other toxicity evaluation of tin will be
welcomed at any time.  It will be submitted for evaluation to the SCF.
Agency or authority designated to handle co mments:  [ X ] EC notification authority,
[   ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of
other body:
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notification authority, [ X ] EC enquiry point, or
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
• The opinion of the Scientific Committee for Food on Acute Risks Posed by Tin in
Canned Foods (adopted on 12 December 2001), mentioned in paragraph 8 is
available at:  http://europa.eu.int/comm/foods/fs/sc/scf/out110_en.pdf
• The Reference for the JECFA report mentioned in paragraph 8 is WHO (2001)
Safety Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants .  WHO Food
Additive Series N°.46.  Prepared by the fifty-fifth meeting of the Joint FAO/WHOExpert Committee on Food Additives, pp. 307-360:  Geneva (World Health
Organization).