Food and feed chemical contaminants in the European Union: Regulatory, scientific, and technical issues concerning chemical contaminants occurrence, risk assessment, and risk management in the European Union

ABSTRACT

A priority of the European Union is the control of risks possibly associated with chemical contaminants in food and undesirable substances in feed. Following an initial chapter describing the main contaminants detected in food and undesirable substances in feed in the EU, their main sources and the factors which affect their occurrence, the present review focuses on the “continous call for data” procedure that is a very effective system in place at EFSA to make possible the exposure assessment of specific contaminants and undesirable substances. Risk assessment of contaminants in food atances in feed is carried currently in the European Union by the CONTAM Panel of EFSA according to well defined methodologies and in collaboration with competent international organizations and with Member States.

KEYWORDS:

• Contaminants
• food
• undesiradable substance
• feed

Notes

¹ Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal feed. OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p.10.

² Food as defined in this report is any substance or product, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be, or reasonably expected to be ingested by humans with the exemptions mentioned in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and covers all types of foods including food supplements and fortified foods. “Feed” (or “feedingstuff”) means any substance or product, including additives, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be used for oral feeding to Animals (Article 3(4), Reg. (EC) 178/2002).