II
(Non-legislative acts)
REGUL ATIONS
COMMI SSION REGUL ATION (EU) 2021/1317 
of 9 August 2021
amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of lead in certain foodstuff s 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION,
Havi ng regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Havi ng regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 of 8 Febr uary 1993 laying down Community procedures for 
contaminants in food (1), and in particular Article 2(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 (2)sets maximum levels for lead (Pb) in a rang e of foodstuffs.
(2) On 18 March 2010 , the European Food Safe ty Author ity (‘the Author ity’) adopt ed an opinion on lead in food (3). The 
Authority identif ied that lead can cause developmental neuroto xicity in young children and cardiov ascular issues and 
nephroto xicity in adults. The risk assessment for lead was based on these pote ntially critical adverse effects. The 
Authority concluded that there was no evidence for a threshold for a number of critical endpoints, including 
developmental neuroto xicity and adult nephroto xicity . Theref ore, it was not appropr iate to derive a tolerable weekly 
intake . The Auth ority expressed a concer n that there was poten tial that the current levels of dietar y exposure to lead 
might affect neurodevelopment in foetuses, infants and children.
(3) The Authority’s conclusions were conf irmed by the conclusions of the repor t of the Joint FAO/WHO Exper t 
Committ ee on Food Additives and Contaminants (FAO/WHO) in 2010 (4).
(4) Taking into account the most recent occur rence data, the Codex Alimentar ius Commission at its 41th Session 
(‘CAC41’) lowe red the Codex maximum level for lead in salt (excluding salt from marshes) from 2 mg/kg to 1 mg/kg.
(5) Taking into account the most recent occur rence data, the Codex Alimentar ius Commission at its 42nd Session 
(‘CAC42’) lowe red the Codex maximum levels of 0,5 mg/kg for edible offal to 0,2 mg/kg for edible offal from cattle, 
0,15 mg/kg for edible offal from pigs and 0,1 mg/kg for edible offal from poultr y. It also lowered the maximum 
levels for ‘wine made from grapes ’ from 0,2 mg/kg to 0,1 mg/kg and set a maximum level for fortified/liqueur 
‘wines made from grapes’ at 0,15 mg/kg. Both maximum levels apply to wine made from grapes harveste d after the 
date the CAC42 adopt ed the maximum levels.
(1)OJ L 37, 13.2.1993, p. 1.
(2)Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 of 19 December 2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs 
(OJ L 364, 20.12.2006, p. 5).
(3)EFSA CONT AM Panel (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain), 2010. Scientific Opinion on lead in food. EFSA Journal 
2010;8(4):1570, https://efsa.onlinelibrar y.wiley .com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1570
(4)Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants. Seventy-third repor t of the joint FAO/WHO Exper t Committee on Food 
Additives. WHO Technical Repor t Series 960.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 10.8.2021                                                                                                                                           L 286/1  (6) In light of these developments and of the most recent occur rence data, the dietar y exposure to lead in food should be 
reduced within the Union by lowering the existing maximum levels or setting additional maximum levels for 
foodstuffs for whic h lower levels of lead are reasonably achi evable, namely offal, certain foods for infants and young 
children, salt and wild fungi. For the same reasons, the maximum levels for lead in wines should be reduced and a 
maximum level for liqueur wine should be established as regards those products produced from future harvests. 
Finally , for those same reasons, but also to help fight fraudulent practices, such as the addition of lead chromate to 
turmer ic, maximum levels for spices should be established.
(7) Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 should theref ore be amended according ly.
(8) Given that lead is a weak indirect genoto xic carcinog en, and consequently its presence is a higher risk for public 
health, products not compl ying with the new maximum levels for lead and placed on the market before the entr y 
into force of this Regulation should only be allowed to remain on the mark et for a shor t period of time.
(9) The measures provid ed for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committ ee on 
Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION:
Article 1
The Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
Foodstuffs listed in the Annex that were lawfully placed on the market before the entr y into force of this Regulation may 
remain on the mark et until 28 Febr uary 2022 .
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day followi ng that of its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 9 August 2021 .
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYENEN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 286/2                                                                                                                                           10.8.2021  ANNEX 
In Section 3: Metals of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, subsection 3.1. (Lead) is replaced by the following:
‘Foodstuffs (1) Maximum level
(mg/kg wet weight)
3.1 Lead
3.1.1 Raw milk (6), heat-treat ed milk and milk for the manufacture of milk -based products 0,020
3.1.2 Infant formulae, follow-on formulae and young child formulae (57)
mark eted as powder (3) (29)0,020
mark eted as liquid (3) (29)0,010
3.1.3 Processed cereal-based foods and baby foods for infants and young children (3) (29) 
other than those listed under point 3.1.5.0,020
3.1.4 Foods for special medical purposes intended for infants and young children
mark eted as powder (3) (29)0,020
mark eted as liquid (3) (29)0,010
3.1.5 Drinks for infants and young children labelled and sold as such, other than those 
mentioned under points 3.1.2 and 3.1.4
mark eted as liquids or to be reconstituted follo wing instr uctions of the 
manufact urer including fruit juices (4)0,020
to be prepared by infusion or decoction (29)0,50
3.1.6 Meat (excluding offal) of bovine animals, sheep, pig and poultr y (6)0,10
3.1.7 Offal (6)
of bovine animals and sheep 0,20
of pig 0,15
of poultr y 0,10
3.1.8 Muscle meat of fish (24) (25)0,30
3.1.9 Cephalopods (52)0,30
3.1.10 Crustaceans (26) (44)0,50
3.1.11 Bivalve molluscs (26)1,50
3.1.12 Cereals and pulses 0,20
3.1.13 Root and tuber vegetables (excluding salsifi es, fresh ginger and fresh turmer ic), bulb 
veget ables, flowe ring brassica, head brassica, kohlrabies, legume vegetables and 
stem vegetables (27) (53)0,10
3.1.14 Leafy brassica, salsify , the followi ng fungi Agaricus bispor us (common mushroom), 
Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyst er mushroom), Lentinula edodes (Shiitake mushroom) and 
leafy veget ables (excluding fresh herbs) (27)0,30
3.1.15 Wild fungi, fresh turmer ic and fresh ginger 0,80EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 10.8.2021                                                                                                                                           L 286/3  3.1.16 Fruiting vegetables
sweetcor n (27)0,10
other than sweetcor n (27)0,05
3.1.17 Fruit, excl uding cranber ries, currants, elderber ries and strawb erry tree fruit (27) 0,10
3.1.18 Cranber ries, currants, elderber ries and strawber ry tree fruit (27)0,20
3.1.19 Fats and oils, including milk fat 0,10
3.1.20 Fruit juices, concentrat ed fruit juices as reconstituted and fruit nectars
excl usively from berries and other small fruits (14)0,05
from fruits other than berries and other small fruits (14)0,03
3.1.21 Wine (including sparkling wine, excl uding liqueur wine), cider , perry and fruit wine 
(11)
products produced from the 2001 fruit harvest to the 2015 fruit harvest 0,20
products produced from the 2016 fruit harvest to the 2021 fruit harvest 0,15
products produced from the 2022 fruit harvest onwards 0,10
3.1.22 Aromatised wine, aromatised wine-based drinks and aromatised wine-product 
cock tails (13)
products produced from the 2001 fruit harvest to the 2015 fruit harvest 0,20
products produced from the 2016 fruit harvest to the 2021 fruit harvest 0,15
products produced from the 2022 fruit harvest onwards 0,10
3.1.23 Liqueur wine made from grapes (*)
products produced from the 2022 fruit harvest onwards 0,15
3.1.24 Food supplements (39)3,0
3.1.25 Honey 0,10
3.1.26 Dried spices (29)
Fruit spices 0,60
Root and rhizome spices 1,50
Bark spices 2,0
Bud spices and flowe r pistil spices 1,0
Seed spices 0,90
3.1.27 Salt, excep t the followi ng unrefin ed salts: ‘fleur de sel’ and ‘grey salt’ which are 
manually harvested from salt marshes with a clay bott om1,0
The followi ng unrefin ed salts: ‘fleur de sel’ and ‘grey salt’ which are manually 
harveste d from salt marshes with a clay bottom2,0
(*)As defin ed in Part II of Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 
2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) 
No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671 ).’EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 286/4                                                                                                                                           10.8.2021