Worldwide Regulations on Aflatoxins—The Situation in 2002

Abstract

Regulations have been established in many countries to protect the consumer from the harmful effects of mycotoxins. Current regulations mostly concern the aflatoxins, but regulations for other mycotoxins are now rapidly developing. Various factors play a role in the decision‐making process of setting limits for mycotoxins. These include scientific factors such as the availability of toxicological data and survey data, knowledge about the distribution of mycotoxins in commodities, and analytical methodology. Economical and political factors such as commercial interests and sufficiency of food supply have their impact as well. International inquiries on existing mycotoxin legislation in foodstuffs and animal feedstuffs have been carried out several times in the last two decades, yielding details about tolerances, legal bases, responsible authorities, and official protocols of analysis and sampling. Most of these surveys were conducted for the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The most recent survey was carried out in 2002 and is in fact still in the state of data processing. Nevertheless, some early (generalized) observations can be made about the development of legislation for aflatoxins in food and feed. The 2002 survey showed that about 100 countries now have specific regulations for aflatoxins in various foodstuffs, dairy products, and animal feeds. This is an increase of approximately 30% compared to the previous inquiry of 1995. The total population in these “aflatoxin‐regulated” countries represents 90% of the world's inhabitants. The survey also showed that aflatoxin regulations are becoming more diverse and detailed in relation to the commodities, and now include newer requirements regarding official procedures for sampling and analytical methodology. There is a slight tendency toward lower limits while, at the same time, some free trade zones (EU, MERCOSUR, Australia/New Zealand) have harmonized their limits and regulations for aflatoxins. Nevertheless, the regulatory requirements remain substantially different among the many countries.