The new version of this proposal differs in a number of respects from the previous version The new draft Regulation includes limits for lead and cadmium in a range of specific foods which differs from that in the earlier proposal, as do the limits which are in general lower in the new draft. It is our understanding that the limits for lead and cadmium in the new draft Regulation are based on draft CODEX standards under discussion in the CODEX Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants.
The draft Regulation also now includes proposals for maximum limits for 3-monochloropropane-l,2-diol (3-MCPD) in a limited range of foods, and proposes that the existing limits for mercury in fish, set by Commission Decision 31 5/93/EEC of 19 May 1993, are transferred to the proposed Regulation and that Decision 93/351/EEC is repealed. The Commission also intends that the proposal will ultimately include limits for dioxins.
An EC meeting to discuss the new draft of this Regulation will be held on 17 December.