II 
(Non-legislative acts) 
REGUL ATIONS 
COMMI SSION REGUL ATION (EU) 2020/1255 
of 7 September 2020 
amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of poly cyclic aromatic 
hydrocarbons (PAHs) in traditionally smoked meat and smoked meat products and traditionally 
smoked fish and smoked fisher y products and establishing a maximum level of PAHs in powders of 
food of plant origin used for the preparation of bev erages 
(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 poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) 
in food, including smoked meat and smoked meat products and smoked fish and smok ed fisher y products. 
(2) According to that Regulation, maximum levels for PAHs should be set at a level which is as low as reasonably 
achi evable (ALARA) based upon good manufactur ing and agricultural/fi sher y practices. In 2011, data for smoked 
fish and smoked meat showe d that lower maximum levels were achi evable. Never theless, adaptations of smoking 
technology were necessar y in some cases. Theref ore, for smoked meat and meat products and smoked fish and 
smoked fisher y products a transition period of three years was grant ed before the lower maximum levels became 
applicable from 1 Sept ember 2014. 
(3) However , despit e of the application of good smoking practices, it was established in 2014 that the lowe r levels for 
PAHs were unac hievable in Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Cypr us, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, 
Finland, Sweden and the Unit ed Kingdom for certain cases of traditionally smok ed meat and smok ed meat products 
and in Ireland, Latvia, Romania, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom for certain cases of traditionally smok ed 
fish and smoked fisher y products. In those cases, the adaptations of smoking practices to compl y with the lower 
maximum PAH levels could not be achieved without changing significantly the organoleptic character istics of the 
food. 
(4) Based on the abov e considerations, and pursuant to Article 7(6) and (7) of Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, a 
temporar y derogat ion from the application of the lowe r maximum levels for PAHs as of 1 Sept ember 2014 was 
grant ed to the Member States concer ned for the placing on their market of traditionally smoke d meat and smoke d 
(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). EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 8.9.2020                                                                                                                                            L 293/1   meat products and/or smoked fish and smoked fisher y products, smoked in their territory and intende d for 
consum ption in their territory . The maximum levels applicable before 1 Sept ember 2014 continued to apply to 
those smok ed products. The derog ation covered generally all smoked meat and smok ed meat products and/or 
smoked fish and smoked fisher y products, without indication of the specific names of foodstuffs. 
(5) In accordance with Article 7(6) and (7) of Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, the respective Member States have 
continued to monitor the presence of PAHs in those products and have established programmes to implement good 
smoking practices where possible. The situation was also reassessed in 2018 on the basis of detailed information 
provid ed by the Member States concer ned including monitor ing data on the presence of PAHs in traditionally 
smoked meat and smoked meat products and smok ed fish and smoke d fisher y products and information on the 
imp lementation of good smoking practices and changes in organoleptic character istics. Follo wing a detailed 
assessment of the provi ded information, it was concluded that the lower PAH levels were not achi evable by 
changing smoking practices within the limits of what is economically feasible and possible without losing typical 
organoleptic charact eristics in certain traditionally smoked meat and smoked meat products in Ireland, Spain, 
Croatia, Cypr us, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Finland and Sweden and in certain traditionally smoked 
fish and smoked fisher y products in Latvia, Finland and Sweden. Theref ore a derog ation for local production and 
consum ption should be grant ed without a time limit for certain traditionally smok ed meat and smoked meat 
products, fish and smok ed fisher y products in these Member States concer ned. 
(6) Further more, certain powders of food of plant origin, used for the preparation of beverages, have been found to 
contain high levels of PAHs due to inappropr iate drying practices applied to those powders. Given that PAHs are 
genoto xic carcinog ens, it is theref ore necessar y to establish a maximum level for PAHs in those powders, achi evable 
by applying good drying practices, with the aim to ensure a high level of human health protection. 
(7) Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 should theref ore be amended according ly. 
(8) 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 
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 
Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 is amended as follows : 
(1) in Article 7, paragraphs 6 and 7 are replaced by the followi ng: 
‘6. By way of derogat ion from Article 1, the followi ng Member States may author ise the placing on their market of 
the followi ng traditionally smoked meat and smoke d meat products, smoked in their territory and intended for 
consum ption in their territory with levels of PAHs higher than those set out in point 6.1.4 of the Annex, provid ed that 
those products comply with the maximum levels applicable before 1 Sept ember 2014, i.e. 5,0 μg/kg for benzo(a)p yrene 
and 30,0 μg/kg for the sum of benzo(a)p yrene, benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)f luoranthene and chrysene: 
— Ireland, Croatia, Cypr us, Spain, Poland and Portugal: traditionally smoked meat and meat products, 
— Latvia: traditionally smoked pork, hot smoked chick en meat, hot smoked sausages and hot smok ed game meat ;, 
— Slovak Republic: salte d traditionally smoked meat, traditionally smoked bacon, traditionally smoked sausage 
(klobása), where ‘traditionally smoke d’ means developing smok e by burning woods (wood logs, wood sawd ust, 
wood chips) in a smok ehouse, 
— Finland: traditionally hot smoke d meat and meat products, 
— Sweden: meat and meat products smoked over glowing wood or other plant mater ials. EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 293/2                                                                                                                                             8.9.2020   Those Member States and concer ned food business operators shall continue to monitor the presence of PAHs in 
traditionally smoked meat and smok ed meat products refer red to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph and shall 
ensure that good smoking practices are imple mented where possible, without losing typical organolep tic character istics 
of those products. 
7. By way of derogation from Article 1, the followi ng Member States may author ise the placing on their market of 
the followi ng traditionally smoke d fish and smoked fisher y products, smok ed in their territory and intende d for 
consum ption in their territory with levels of PAHs higher than those set out in point 6.1.5 of the Annex, provid ed that 
those smoked products comply with the maximum levels applicable before 1 Sept ember 2014, i.e. 5,0 μg/kg for benzo 
(a)pyrene and 30,0 μg/kg for the sum of benzo(a)p yrene, benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)f luoranthene and chrysene: 
— Latvia: traditionally hot smok ed fish, 
— Finland: traditionally hot smoke d small fish and fisher y products made from small fish, 
— Sweden: fish and fisher y products smoked over glowing wood or other plant mater ials. 
Those Member States and concer ned food business operators shall continue to monitor the presence of PAHs in 
traditionally smoke d fish and smoked fisher y products referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph and shall 
ensure that good smoking practices are imple mented where possible, without losing typical organolep tic character istics 
of those products.’; 
(2) the Annex is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation. 
Article 2 
Foodstuffs, listed in the Annex to this Regulation, lawfully placed on the market prior to the entr y into force may remain on 
the mark et after that date until 28 March 2021. 
Article 3 
Entr y into force and application 
This Regulation shall enter into force on twentieth day follo wing 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, 7 Sept ember 2020.  
For the Commission 
The President 
Ursula VON DER LEYEN     EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 8.9.2020                                                                                                                                            L 293/3   ANNEX 
The followi ng entr y is added after entr y 6.1.15 on ‘Dried spices with the excep tion of cardamon and smok ed Capsicum 
spp.’ to Section 6 of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006:                                                              
‘6.1.16 Powders of food of plant origin for the pre­
paration of beverages with the excep tion of 
the products refer red to in 6.1.2 
and 6.1.11 (*) 10,0 50,0 
(*) the preparation of beverag es refers to the use of powders that are finely ground and are to be stirred into drinks.’   EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 293/4                                                                                                                                             8.9.2020