Food Law News - EU - 1998
6 November 1998: CONTAMINANTS - Pesticide Residues in Baby Foods
JFSSG Letter, 6 November 1998
Pesticide Residues in Baby Foods
European Commission directive 91/321/EEC on infant formulae and follow-on formulae, and directive 96/5/EC on baby foods, require that these foods shall not contain any substance in such quantity as to endanger the health of infants and young children, and that maximum levels for such substances are established without delay. To fulfil this obligation the European Commission has developed proposals to amend these directives and set maximum limits for pesticide residues in these foods. They will be presented for Member States to vote upon at the December meeting of the EC Standing Committee for Foodstuffs.
The proposals will replace the present Article 6 in both Directives. The additional clauses will require that:
- the maximum levels of pesticide in the specified foods shall not exceed 0.01 mg/kg (with analytical methods to be generally acceptable standardised methods)
- pesticides to be listed in a new Annex shall not be used in agricultural products intended for the production of the controlled foods. (no pesticides are listed in the draft versions of the Annex).
A new Article 6A will be inserted into both Directives which will define pesticide residue as the residue in the controlled products of a plant protection product, as defined in Article 2.1 of Directive 91/414/EEC, including its metabolites and products resulting from its degradation or reaction.
Comments on the proposals in the UK have been requested by the Ministry by 27 November. For the Commission Press Release on this topic, see 14 October 1998
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