Commission Regulation (EC) No 629/2008 of 2 July 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2008-07-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: cadmium, consumer protection, dangerous substance, food safety, food standard, foodstuff, lead, marketing standard, mercury

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 629/2008

of 2 July 2008

amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in
foodstuffs

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 of
8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for
contaminants in food (1), and in particular Article 2(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 (2)
sets
maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs,
including maximum levels for the metals lead, cadmium
and mercury.

It is essential, in order to protect public health, to keep
levels which do not cause health
contaminants at
cadmium and
lead,
for
concerns. Maximum levels
mercury must be
reasonably
low as
safe and as
achievable based upon good manufacturing and agricul-
tural/fishery practices.

On the basis of new information, good agricultural and
fisheries practices do not allow keeping levels of lead,
cadmium and mercury in certain aquatic species and
fungi as low as required in the Annex of Regulation
(EC) No 1881/2006. It is therefore necessary to revise
the maximum levels fixed for those contaminants while
maintaining a high level of consumer health protection.

High levels of lead, cadmium and mercury have been
as defined in
found in certain food supplements
Article 2 of Directive 2002/46/EC of
the European
Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 on the

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

approximation of the laws of the Member States relating
to food supplements (3) and were notified through the
Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). It has
been shown that these food supplements can contribute
significantly to human exposure to lead, cadmium and
mercury. In order to protect public health, it is therefore
appropriate to set maximum levels for lead, cadmium
and mercury in food supplements. These maximum
levels must be safe and as low as reasonably achievable
based upon good manufacturing practices.

accumulates

cadmium naturally.

Seaweed
Food
supplements consisting exclusively or mainly of dried
seaweed or of products derived from seaweed can
therefore contain higher levels of cadmium than other
food supplements. To take this into account, a higher
food
maximum level
supplements consisting exclusively or mainly of seaweed.

cadmium is needed for

for

Member States and food business operators should be
allowed time to adapt to the new maximum levels for
food supplements. The application of
the maximum
levels for food supplements should therefore be deferred.

An amendment of Footnote 1 of the Annex of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1881/2006 is necessary to clarify that the
maximum level for fruit does not apply to tree nuts.

New monitoring recommendations have been introduced
by Commission Recommendation 2007/196/EC of
28 March 2007 on the monitoring of the presence of
furan in foodstuffs (4) and Commission Recommendation
2007/331/EC of 3 May 2007 on the monitoring of
acrylamide levels in food (5). The provisions on moni-
toring and reporting in Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006
therefore need to be completed with references to those
new Recommendations. The monitoring exercise on
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons set out in Commission
Recommendation 2005/108/EC (6) has been finalised.
Therefore, the reference to that monitoring Recommen-
dation can be deleted.

(1) OJ L 37, 13.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ
L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 364, 20.12.2006, p. 5. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC) No 1126/2007 (OJ L 255, 29.9.2007, p. 14).

(3) OJ L 183, 12.7.2002, p. 51. Directive as amended by Commission

Directive 2006/37/EC (OJ L 94, 1.4.2006, p. 32).

(4) OJ L 88, 29.3.2007, p. 56.
(5) OJ L 123, 12.5.2007, p. 33.
(6) OJ L 34, 8.2.2005, p. 43.

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(9)

Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

(10)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with
Standing
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

opinion

the

the

of

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

and

findings on acrylamide and furan as specified in Commission
2007/196/EC (46)
Recommendation
Commission
Recommendation 2007/331/EC (47).
___________
(44) OJ L 199, 21.7.2006, p. 21.
(45) OJ L 322, 22.11.2006, p. 24.
(46) OJ L 88, 29.3.2007, p. 56.
(47) OJ L 123, 12.5.2007, p. 33.’

2. The Annex is amended in accordance to the Annex to this

Regulation.

Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 is amended as follows:

Article 2

1. In Article 9, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3. Member States
to the Commission
should report
findings on aflatoxins, dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs, non-
specified in Commission Decision
dioxin-like PCBs as
2006/504/EC (44)
Recommendation
2006/794/EC (45). Member States should report
to EFSA

Commission

and

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The maximum levels laid down in points 3.1.18, 3.2.19, 3.2.20
and 3.3.3 of the Annex shall apply from 1 July 2009. They
shall not apply to products lawfully placed on the market before
1 July 2009. The burden of proving when the products were
placed on the market shall be borne by the food business
operator.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 2 July 2008.

For the Commission

Androulla VASSILIOU
Member of the Commission

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The Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 is amended as follows:

ANNEX

(1) In Subsection 3.1 (Lead), point 3.1.11 is replaced by the following and a new point 3.1.18 is added:

‘3.1.11

Brassica vegetables,
(common mushroom), Pleurotus ostreatus
(Shiitake mushroom)

leaf vegetables and the following fungi (27): Agaricus bisporus
(Oyster mushroom), Lentinula edodes

3.1.18

Food supplements (*)

(*) The maximum level applies to the food supplements as sold.’

(2) Subsection 3.2. (Cadmium) is replaced by the following:

Cadmium

Meat (excluding offal) of bovine animals, sheep, pig and poultry (6)

Horsemeat, excluding offal (6)

Liver of bovine animals, sheep, pig, poultry and horse (6)

Kidney of bovine animals, sheep, pig, poultry and horse (6)

Muscle meat of fish (24) (25), excluding species listed in points 3.2.6, 3.2.7 and
3.2.8

Muscle meat of the following fish (24) (25):
bonito (Sarda sarda)
common two-banded seabream (Diplodus vulgaris)
eel (Anguilla anguilla)
grey mullet (Mugil labrosus labrosus)
horse mackerel or scad (Trachurus species)
louvar or luvar (Luvarus imperialis)
mackerel (Scomber species)
sardine (Sardina pilchardus)
sardinops (Sardinops species)
tuna (Thunnus species, Euthynnus species, Katsuwonus pelamis)
wedge sole (Dicologoglossa cuneata)

Muscle meat of the following fish (24) (25):
bullet tuna (Auxis species)

Muscle meat of the following fish (24) (25):
anchovy (Engraulis species)
swordfish (Xiphias gladius)

Crustaceans, excluding brown meat of crab and excluding head and thorax meat of
lobster and similar large crustaceans (Nephropidae and Palinuridae) (26)

Bivalve molluscs (26)

Cephalopods (without viscera) (26)

Cereals excluding bran, germ, wheat and rice

Bran, germ, wheat and rice

Soybeans

‘3.2

3.2.1

3.2.2

3.2.3

3.2.4

3.2.5

3.2.6

3.2.7

3.2.8

3.2.9

3.2.10

3.2.11

3.2.12

3.2.13

3.2.14

3.2.15

Vegetables and fruit, excluding leaf vegetables, fresh herbs, fungi, stem vegetables,
root vegetables and potatoes (27)

0,050

0,30

3,0

0,050

0,20

0,50

1,0

0,050

0,10

0,20

0,30

0,50

1,0

1,0

0,10

0,20

0,20

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0,10

0,20

1,0

1,0

3,0

1,0

3.2.16

3.2.17

3.2.18

3.2.19

3.2.20

Stem vegetables, root vegetables and potatoes, excluding celeriac (27). For potatoes
the maximum level applies to peeled potatoes.

Leaf vegetables, fresh herbs, celeriac and the following fungi (27): Agaricus bisporus
(common mushroom), Pleurotus ostreatus
(Oyster mushroom), Lentinula edodes
(Shiitake mushroom)

Fungi, excluding those listed in point 3.2.17 (27)

Food supplements (*) excl. food supplements listed in point 3.2.20

Food supplements (*) consisting exclusively or mainly of dried seaweed or of
products derived from seaweed

(*) The maximum level applies to the food supplements as sold.’

(3) In Subsection 3.3 (Mercury), point 3.3.2 is replaced by the following and a new point 3.3.3 is added:

‘3.3.2

Muscle meat of the following fish (24) (25):
anglerfish (Lophius species)
Atlantic catfish (Anarhichas lupus)
bonito (Sarda sarda)
eel (Anguilla species)
emperor, orange roughy, rosy soldierfish (Hoplostethus species)
grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris)
halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus)
kingklip (Genypterus capensis)
marlin (Makaira species)
megrim (Lepidorhombus species)
mullet (Mullus species)
pink cusk eel (Genypterus blacodes)
pike (Esox lucius)
plain bonito (Orcynopsis unicolor)
poor cod (Tricopterus minutes)
Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis)
rays (Raja species)
redfish (Sebastes marinus, S. mentella, S. viviparus)
sail fish (Istiophorus platypterus)
scabbard fish (Lepidopus caudatus, Aphanopus carbo)
seabream, pandora (Pagellus species)
shark (all species)
snake mackerel or butterfish (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum, Ruvettus pretiosus, Gempylus
serpens)
sturgeon (Acipenser species)
swordfish (Xiphias gladius)
tuna (Thunnus species, Euthynnus species, Katsuwonus pelamis)

3.3.3

Food supplements (*)

0,10

(*) The maximum level applies to the food supplements as sold.’

(4) In footnote (1) the following sentence is added:

‘Tree nuts are not covered by the maximum level for fruit.’

(5) Footnote (8) is replaced by the following:

‘(8) Foodstuffs listed in this category as defined in Commission Directive 2006/141/EC (OJ L 401, 30.12.2006, p. 1).’