NoC223/24 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 31.8.92
andifthislimitationisdesirable,itshouldbeputinto
theappropriateinstrumentscoveringoliveoil.
2.4.Article1.4b)
2.4.1.Thisseemsacceptableexceptpossiblyforone
point:dichloromethane isusedtogetparticularflavour
extractsfromseveralplantsinparticular :cassiabark,
cinnamonbark,vanillabeansandtonquinbeans.The
annualproductionoftheseisverysmallindeedandthe
resultingdichloromethane residuesinthefoodsupply
wouldbelessthan1:10000ofthosecontributedby
decaffeinatedteaandcoffee.Subjecttoagreementby
theSCF,thesecouldthereforebeauthorizedifused
belowthecurrentlimitofdetectionof50|ig/kginthe
finishedproductasconsumed.2.5.Article1.4c)
2.5.1.AmongthediscontinuedsolventsinPartIIIis
cyclohexane ,andthatbecausetheSCFdidnothave
adequatesafety-in-usetestsavailableintime.TheCom­
mitteeregretsthattheindustrydidnotheedtheSCF
requirementingoodtime.
2.5.2.Thissolventhasaparticularuseinpreparing
averylimitednumberofflavours.TheCommitteehas
beeninformedthatIndustryhasnowagreedatesting
protocolwiththeSCFandtestswillbecarriedoutfor
evaluationbytheSCFduring1992.Permissionforthis
solventthereforeshouldcontinueduring1992with
continuationthereafteronlyiftheresultsofthetests
areacceptabletotheSCF.
DoneatBrussels,26May1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilRegulation(EEC)layingdownCommunityprocedures
forcontaminantsinfood(1)
(92/C223/08)
On2March1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle100AoftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforProtectionoftheEnvironment ,PublicHealthandConsumerAffairs,which
wasresponsibleforpreparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon
5May1992.TheRapporteurwasMrGardner.
Atits297thPlenarySession(meetingof26May1992)theEconomicandSocialCommittee
unanimouslyadoptedthefollowingOpinion.
1.Introduction
1.1.Contaminants infoodareimpuritiesfromsourc­
esgenerallypresentintheenvironmentwhichgetinto
thefoodbutarenotintentionallyadded.Theyinclude
suchdiverseitemsasheavymetals(lead,copper,etc.),
naturallypresentinthesoil,radio-activityfrommin­
eralsinthesub-soil,mycotoxins,polycyclicaromatic
hydrocarbons (fromsmoke),etc.1.2.Suchcontaminantshavealwaysbeenpresentin
foodthoughtheyarechanginginkind.Thusforwater,
amajorcontamination problemusedtobeleadfrom
pipes.Nowitisconsideredtobenitrates.Furthermore ,
inrecentyears,advancesinanalyticaltechniqueshave
showncontaminantstobepresentwherepreviously
theycouldoftennotbedetected.Theyneedregulation
onlywheretheyarepresentattoxicologically signifi­
cantlevels.Individualcountrieshavedifferentwaysof
dealingwiththese,oftenbasedonhistoricalnational
considerations .GiventheforthcomingMarketwithout
Frontiers,theCommitteethereforeagreesthatharmon­
izationisnecessary. t1)OJNoC57,4.3.1992,p.11.

31.8.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC223/25
2.Generalcomments
Theproposaldealswiththosecontaminantsatlevels
whichmaybetoxicologically unacceptableandregu­
latesthosefollowingadvicebytheScientificCommittee
forFood(SCF).Itthereforedoessoonafactualbasis,
transparenttoallMemberStatesandtheCommittee
approvestheproposalsubjecttosomedetailedcom­
ments.—Areferencetooneormoremethodsofsampling
andanalysiswhichcanbeapplied.'
3.1.1.Toensureuniformity,theremustbeprovision
forestablishingalistofacceptablemethods.This
shouldbedonebytheprocedureinArticle8andusing
asfaraspossibleavailabletestedmethodssuchasthe
AssociationofOfficialAnalyticalChemists(AOAC),
theInternational Organization forStandardization
(ISO),etc.
3.2.Article6.2
Toensuretransparencyandpossiblesecondarybarriers
tointer-Community trade,thefollowingwordsshould
beaddedattheend:
'afterhavingtakenactioninaccordancewith
Article5wherenecessary.'
3.3.Article8
Thisprovidesforanadvisorycommitteetoworkout
detailedprovisionswhereappropriate .Thisshouldbe
changedtoaregulatorycommittee .3.Detailedcomments
3.1.Article3.3
Thisimpliesthatthereisalwaysareferencemethodof
analysis.Inmanycases,noonemethodexistsandthere
areseveralequivalentones,dependingtosomeextent
onnationalresourcesandlevelsofequipment .The
secondandthirdindentsshouldthereforebechanged
to:
'—Analyticallimitsdetectablebygenerallyavail­
ablemethods;
DoneatBrussels,26May1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH