DIRECTIVES  
COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2010/6/EU  
of 9 February 2010  
amending Annex I to Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as 
regards mercury, free gossypol, nitrites and  Mowrah, Bassia, Madhuca  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union,  
Having regard to Directive 2002/32/EC of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable 
substances in animal feed (  1 ), and in particular Article 8(1) 
thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Directive 2002/32/EC provides that the use of products 
intended for animal feed which contain levels of unde ­
sirable substances exceeding the maximum levels laid 
down in Annex I to that Directive is prohibited.  
(2) As regards mercury, the European Food Safety Authority 
(EFSA) concluded in its opinion of 20 February 2008 (  2 ) 
that the current maximum level for complete feed ­
ingstuffs for fish (0,1 mg/kg) and the maximum level 
for feedingstuffs produced by the processing of fish 
and other marine animals (0,5 mg/kg) are not 
harmonised. Following recent developments in feed 
formulation, fish feed contains more fish oil and fish 
meal, but with the current legal provisions the availability 
of these valuable feed materials for the production of fish 
feed is endangered. In order to address this, a slight 
increase of the maximum level for fish feed is appro ­
priate and this increase would not endanger the compliance of farmed fish with the established maximum 
levels for mercury. Furthermore it results from that 
opinion that the current maximum level for complete 
feedingstuffs for dogs and cats are not sufficiently 
protective. That maximum level should therefore be 
lowered. Since the degree of sensitivity of fur animals 
is similar to that of cats, that maximum level should 
also apply to fur animals.  
(3) As regards nitrites, EFSA concluded in its opinion of 
25 March 2009 (  3 ) that for pigs and cattle, as represen ­
tative sensitive food producing species the margins of 
safety with respect to the respective No Observed 
Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) are sufficient. It considered 
furthermore that the presence of nitrite in animal 
products does not raise any concern for human health. 
Nitrite is already authorised with a maximum content of 
100 mg/kg for use as a preservative in complete feed ­
ingstuffs for dogs and cats, with a moisture content 
exceeding 20 %, and as an additive in silage (  4 ). Nitrite 
is therefore not to be considered as an undesirable 
substance in such complete feedingstuffs and in silage. 
Consequently, no maximum level should apply in these 
cases.  
(4) As regards gossypol, EFSA concluded in its opinion of 
4 December 2008 that the current maximum levels for 
sheep, including lambs, and goats, including kids, are not 
sufficiently protective against adverse animal health 
effects. EFSA further concluded that the human 
exposure to gossypol through the consumption of food 
products from animals fed cottonseed derived products is 
probably low and would not result in adverse effects. 
Based on that opinion the maximum levels for sheep, 
including lambs, and goats, including kids, should be 
lowered.EN 10.2.2010 Official Journal of the European Union L 37/29  
( 1 ) OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p. 10.  
( 2 ) Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food chain 
on a request from the European Commission on mercury as unde ­
sirable substance in feed,  The EFSA Journal  (2008) 654, 1-76.  ( 3 ) Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain 
on a request from the European Commission on nitrite as unde ­
sirable substances in animal feed.  The EFSA Journal  (2009) 1017, 
1-47.  
( 4 ) Community Register of Feed Additives pursuant to Regulation (EC) 
No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council, 
entry on sodium nitrite (Dogs, Cats) and sodium nitrite in silage, 
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/animalnutrition/feedadditive s/ 
registeradditives_en.htm(5) As regard saponins in  Madhuca longifolia  L., EFSA 
concluded in its opinion of 29 January 2009 (  1 ) that 
no adverse animal health effects are expected because 
of the negligible exposure of target animals in the 
Union. EFSA considers that human dietary exposure to  
Madhuca  saponins is negligible, since  Madhuca  products 
are not consumed by humans and  Madhuca  meal is not 
used in the Union as a feed material. Therefore it is 
appropriate to delete the row concerning  Mowrah, 
Bassia, Madhuca . 
(6) Directive 2002/32/EC should therefore be amended 
accordingly.  
(7) The measures provided for in this Directive are in 
accordance with the opinion of the Standing 
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health and 
neither the European Parliament nor the Council has 
opposed them,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:  
Article 1  
Annex I to Directive 2002/32/EC is amended in accordance 
with the Annex to this Directive.  
Article 2  
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and 
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 1 November 2010 at the latest. They shall 
forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those 
provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and 
this Directive.  
When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain 
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a 
reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member 
States shall determine how such reference is to be made.  
Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text 
of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the 
field covered by this Directive.  
Article 3  
This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following 
its publication in the  Official Journal of the European Union . 
Article 4  
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.  
Done at Brussels, 9 February 2010.  
For the Commission  
The President  
José Manuel BARROSOEN L 37/30 Official Journal of the European Union 10.2.2010  
( 1 ) Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain 
on a request from the European Commission on Saponins in  
Madhuca Longifolia  L. as undesirable substances in animal feed.  The 
EFSA Journal  (2009) 979, 1-36.ANNEX  
Annex I to Directive 2002/32/EC is amended as follows:  
1. Row 4, Mercury, is replaced by the following:  
Undesirable substances  Products intended for animal feed  Maximum content in mg/kg 
(ppm) relative to a feedingstuff 
with a moisture content of 
12 %  
(1) (2)  (3)  
‘4. Mercury (*) (**)  Feed materials  0,1  
with the exception of:  
— feedingstuffs produced from fish or by the processing 
of fish or other aquatic animals,  0,5 
— calcium carbonate.  0,3  
Compound (complementary and complete) feedingstuffs  0,1  
with the exception of:  
— mineral feed,  0,2  
— compound feedingstuffs for fish,  0,2  
— compound feedingstuffs for dogs, cats and fur 
animals.  0,3 
(*) The maximum levels refer to total mercury. 
(**) Maximum levels refer to an analytical determination of mercury, whereby extraction is performed in nitric acid (5 % w/w) f or 30 
minutes at boiling temperature. Equivalent extraction procedures can be applied for which it can be demonstrated that the used 
extraction procedure has an equal extraction efficiency.’  
2. Row 5, Nitrites, is replaced by the following:  
Undesirable substances  Products intended for animal feed  Maximum content in mg/kg 
(ppm) relative to a feedingstuff 
with a moisture content of 
12 %  
(1) (2)  (3)  
‘5. Nitrites  Feed materials  15 (expressed as sodium 
nitrite)  
with the exception of:  
— fishmeal,  30 (expressed as sodium 
nitrite)  
— silage.  —  
Complete feedingstuffs  15 (expressed as sodium 
nitrite)  
with the exception of:  
— complete feedingstuffs for dogs and cats with a 
moisture content exceeding 20 %.  —’EN 10.2.2010 Official Journal of the European Union L 37/313. Row 9, Free gossypol is replaced by the following:  
Undesirable substances  Products intended for animal feed  Maximum content in mg/kg 
(ppm) relative to a feedingstuff 
with a moisture content of 
12 %  
(1) (2)  (3)  
‘9. Free gossypol  Feed materials  20  
with the exception of:  
— cottonseed,  5 000  
— cottonseed cakes and cottonseed meal.  1 200  
Complete feedingstuffs  20  
with the exception of:  
— complete feedingstuffs for adult cattle,  500  
— complete feedingstuffs for sheep (except lambs and 
goats (except kids),  300  
— complete feedingstuffs for poultry (except laying hens) 
and calves,  100  
— complete feedingstuffs for rabbits, lambs, kids and 
pigs (except piglets).  60’ 
4. Row 32, ‘ Mowrah, Bassia, Madhuca – Madhuca longifolia  (L.) Macbr. (=  Bassia longifolia  L. =  Illiped malabrorum  Engl.)  
Madhuca indica  Gmelin (=  Bassia latifolia  Roxb.) =  Illipe latifolia  (Roscb.) F. Mueller)’ is deleted.EN L 37/32 Official Journal of the European Union 10.2.2010