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Contaminants in Food
Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (Host Government - Netherlands)
The Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) establishes and endorses permitted maximum levels or guideline levels for contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed.
It also prepares priority lists of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants for risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.
The CCCF considers methods of analysis and sampling for the determination of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed and develops and elaborates standards or codes of practice for related subjects. It also considers other matters assigned to it by the Commission in relation to contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed.
Existing Codex Standards
The 'General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods' - relating to contaminants in food* - has been endorsed and adopted into the international food code.
*This is an indicative list only. For a full list of standards approved by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, please consult its Official List of Standards.
Outcomes from the 31st Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
The 31st Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted, at Step 8, the:
- Draft Maximum Level for 3-MCPD in Liquid Condiments Containing Acid-Hydrolyzed Vegetable Proteins (Excluding Naturally Fermented Soy Sauce) (N08-2004)
- Draft Maximum Level for Ochratoxin A in Raw Wheat, Barley and Rye, and
- the Draft Maximum Levels for Total Aflatoxins in Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios “For further processing” and “Ready-to-eat”
- the Proposed Draft Aflatoxin Sampling Plans for Aflatoxin Contamination in Ready-to-eat Treenuts and Treenuts Destined for Further Processing: Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios (N07-2004), and
- the Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxin Contamination in Dried Figs were adopted at Step 5/8.
The Commission also adopted the Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of Acrylamide in Food (N06-2006) and the Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of Contamination of Food with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) from Smoking and Direct Drying Processes (N07-2006) at Step 5.
Establishment of the Committee
The 29th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted the terms of reference proposed for the CCCF, and decided to replace the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (CCFAC) with the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) and the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA). The Commission agreed that each Committee should review its terms of reference at its first session.
Download the agenda papers for this meeting
Last Meeting
The 3rd Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods was held in The Hague, The Netherlands, from 23-27 March 2008.
At this meeting the committee agreed to forward to the Commission:
Draft and Proposed draft Standards and Related Texts at Steps 8 or 5/8 of the Procedure
- Draft Maximum Levels for 3-MCPD in Liquid Condiments containing Acid-Hydrolyzed Vegetable Proteins (Excluding Naturally Fermented Soy Sauce) (N08-2004) at Step 8
- Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of 3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) during the Production of Acid-Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (Acid-HVPs) and Products that Contain Acid- HVPs (N09-2005) at Step 8
- Draft Maximum Level for Ochratoxin A in Raw Wheat, Barley and Rye at Step 8
- Draft Maximum Levels for Total Aflatoxins in Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios “For further processing” and “Ready-to-eat” at Step 8
- Proposed Draft Aflatoxin Sampling Plans for Aflatoxin Contamination in Ready-to-eat Treenuts and Treenuts Destined for Further Processing: Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios (N07-2004) at Step 5/8, and
- Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxin Contamination in Dried Figs (N10-2007) at Step 5/8.
Proposed Draft Standards and Related Texts at Step 5 of the Procedure
- Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of Acrylamide in Food (N06-2006), and
- Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of Contamination of Food with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) from Smoking and Direct Drying Processes (N07-2006).
Proposed amendments to the Procedural Manual
The Committee agreed to forward the following text to the 61st Session of the Executive Committee for consideration with a view to adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and inclusion in the Procedural Manual:
- Proposed Draft Provisions Applied to Contaminants in the “Relations between Commodity Committees and General Committees”.
Proposals for new work
- “Maximum Levels for Total Aflatoxins in Brazil Nuts”, and
- a “Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Ochratoxin A Contamination in Coffee”.
Others
The Committee agreed to forward to the Codex Alimentarius Commission the Priority List of Contaminants and Naturally Occurring Toxicants Proposed for Evaluation by JECFA for adoption.
The Committee also:
- endorsed the propose draft amendments to Section 3.2 “Health-Related Limits for Certain Substances” of the Codex Standard for Natural Mineral Waters, and
- provisionally endorsed the proposed levels for marine biotoxins in the Draft Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs.
The Committee agreed:
- that the Proposed Draft Revision of the Preamble of the GSCTF (N04-2006) be returned to Step 2 for redrafting by an electronic working group, with a view to circulation at Step 3 and consideration at Step 4 at the next session of the Committee
- to establish an electronic working group to prepare proposed draft maximum levels for total aflatoxins in Brazil nuts at Step 2, with a view to its circulation for comments at Step 3 and its consideration at Step 4 at the next session of the Committee, pending the formal approval of new work by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
- to establish an electronic working group to prepare a draft proposed Code of Practice on the Prevention and Reduction of Ochratoxin A contamination in Coffee at Step 2, with a view to its circulation for comments at Step 3 and its consideration at Step 4 at the next session of the Committee, pending the formal approval of new work by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
- that the following discussion papers be prepared for consideration at the next session of the Committee:
- Discussion paper on fumonisins
- Discussion paper on benzene in soft drinks
- Discussion paper on cyanogenic glycosides
- Discussion paper on mycotoxins in sorghum, and
- Discussion paper on ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages.
Download the report from this meeting
Next Meeting
The 3rd Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands from 23-27 March 2009.