Community Reference Laboratory

for Dioxins and PCBs in Feed and Food

State Institute for Chemical and Veterinary Analysis of Food, Freiburg, Germany

Contamination of Guar Gum from India with Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and Dioxins

The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASSF) of the European Commission received on 24 July 2007 in the evening a notification from the competent authorities of

Switzerland concerning a finding of a serious contamination by dioxins and pentachlorophenol in guar gum originating from India. This contamination incident was reported through the RASSF on 25 July 2007 to all Member States by alert notification

2007.0499 (and additions).

Guar gum is an edible thickening agent extracted from the guar bean. India produces approximately 80 % of the world’s total production of guar beans. There is a food grade guar

gum powder which is authorized as food additive and used as a thickening, emulysifying,

binding and gelling additive in a very wide range of foodstuffs. There exists also an industrial grade of guar gum powder for non-food uses.

The contamination levels of dioxins and pentachlorophenol found in certain batches of

guar gum are very high. The initially found levels of up to 480 pg WHO-PCDD/FTEQ/g product and 4 mg PCP/kg gave reason for serious concern. Analyses of samples

collected to follow up these findings confirmed these high levels in certain batches; even

higher levels were detected in few cases. However, also uncontaminated guar gum was

found.

The dioxin pattern confirms that the presence of dioxins is related to the presence of

pentachlorophenol. However, the exact source of contamination (pathway and place of

contamination) is still to be clarified. The Commission has urged the competent authorities from India to provide more information as regards the source of contamination in order to enable a better assessment of the possible extent of the contamination.

The Commission asked the Member States to trace and block identified contaminated

of guar gum. In addition, all batches of guar gum originating from the Indian company

producing the contaminated product should be detained, sampled and analysed for the

presence of pentachlorophenol and dioxins. In case pentachlorophenol is quantified

and/or unacceptable levels of dioxins are found, the guar gum cannot enter the feed and

food chain and must be safely disposed of. Batches of guar gum from can only be released after an analysis has demonstrated that dioxin is not present in quantifiable levels.

Furthermore, also guar gum from other suppliers in India should be sampled and analysed for a possible presence of pentachlorophenol and dioxins. In case pentachlorophenol is quantified and/or unacceptable levels of dioxins are found, the sampled batch of

guar gum has to be traced and blocked and safely disposed off.

HESI300420
Community Reference Laboratory

for Dioxins and PCBs in Feed and Food

State Institute for Chemical and Veterinary Analysis of Food, Freiburg, Germany

In case a contaminated batch of guar gum has already been used for the production of

food, it has to be assessed if the food products made from the contaminated guar gum

are compliant with EU legislation. In case the products are compliant, the food products

can remain on the market. In case the food products are not compliant, a withdrawal /

recall from the market has to be ordered. In case of doubt, the food products should be

sampled and analysed for the presence of dioxins of pentachlorophenol.

As regards the reference point of action for unacceptable levels of dioxins and pentachlorophenol in guar gum, the Commission services have sent the following information to the competent authorities of the Member States in the interest of an uniform approach within the EU:

1) Guar gum is generally traded under CN code 1302 32 90.

2) As regards acceptable levels of pentachlorophenol and dioxins in guar gum:

Pentachlorophenol should be absent in guar gum (and also other food products).

Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliamnet and of the Council of 23

February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of

plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC (OJ L 70,

16.3.2005, p.1) does not establish an MRL for pentachlorophenol. However it is

foreseen in a draft Commission Regulation amending Regulaiton 396/2005 currently notified to WTO for comments that for pentachlorophenol the default MRL

of 0.01 mg/kg (limit of quantification) would apply for all foods and feeds.

Currently national MRLs exist of 0.01 mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg. Therefore any level

of pentachlorophenol in guar gum exceeding 0.01 mg/kg taking into account

the measurement uncertainty is to be considered as unacceptable.

As regards dioxins: No maximum levels have been established for dioxins in guar

gum by Commission Regulation (EC) 1881/2006 of 19 December 2006 setting

maximum levels for certain contaminats in food (OJ L 364, 20.12.2006, p. 5).

However to determine what is to be considered as an unacceptable level, reference can be made to the maximum level existing for vegetable oils and fats

which 0.75 pg PCDD/F WHO-TEQ/g fat (which is in the case of pure vegetable oils and fats also 0.75 pg PCDD/F WHO-TEQ/g product) or reference can

also be made to the action level set by Commission Recommendation

2006/88/EC of 6 February 2006 on the reduction of the presence of dioxins, furans

and PCBs in feedingstuffs and foodstuffs (OJ L42, 14.2.2006, p. 26) for fruits

vegetables and cereals which is 0.4 ng/kg product or 0.4 pg/g product. Following the requirement that contaminant levels shall be kept as low as can reasonably achieved by following good practices at all the stages of production, processing and distribution (Article 2 (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) 315/93 of 8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food, levels of

dioxins (PCDD/F) in guar gum should be lower than 0.75 pg PCDD/F WHOCRL-Dioxin 21 August 20075 Page 2 of 3

HESI300421
Community Reference Laboratory

for Dioxins and PCBs in Feed and Food

State Institute for Chemical and Veterinary Analysis of Food, Freiburg, Germany

TEQ/g product (or 0.75 ng PCDD/F- WHO-TEQ/kg product). Levels higher

than 0.75 pg PCDD/F WHO TEQ /g product are to be considered as unacceptably contaminated with dioxins

3) The presence of dioxins is related to the presence of pentachlorophenol, as confirmed

by so called "pentachlorophenol pattern" found by analysis of dioxins in contaminated guar gum. Therefore in order to gain time and money it appears that the analysis of dioxin-like PCBs is not absolutely necessary as the presence of dio×in-like

PCBs in relation to the dioxins and furans would be low, insofar it continues to be confirmed that the presence of dioxins is exclusively related to the presence of pentachlorophenol.

4) The sampling of guar gum has to be performed in accordance with the sampling provisions outlined Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) NO 1883/2006 of 19 December 2006 laying down methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of levels of

dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in certain foodstuffs (OJ L364, 20.12.2006, p. 32).

CRL-Dioxin 21 August 20075 Page 3 of 3

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