Regulations for Mycotoxins in Food: Focus on the European ... - ARI

egulations will also be strengthened as a consequence
of the European Commission’s “Mandate
<strong>for</strong> Standardization addressed to CEN <strong>in</strong>
the Field of Methods of Analysis <strong>for</strong> <strong>Mycotox<strong>in</strong>s</strong>
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Food</strong>” [26]. The new mandate falls with<strong>in</strong>
the framework of Regulation EC no. 882/2004
[27]. This Regulation provides that sampl<strong>in</strong>g and
analysis methods used <strong>in</strong> the context of official
controls shall comply with relevant Community
rules or if no such rules exist, with <strong>in</strong>ternationally
recognized rules or protocols, <strong>for</strong> example those
that the European Committee <strong>for</strong> Standardization
(CEN) has accepted. The view of the European
Commission on CEN standards is clear:
“The establishment of standardized methods of
analysis is of utmost importance to guarantee a
uni<strong>for</strong>m application and control of the European
legislation <strong>in</strong> all Member States. Standardized
methods of analysis are an <strong>in</strong>dispensable element
<strong>in</strong> guarantee<strong>in</strong>g a high level of food safety”.
In the text of the mandate a statement is
made that the elaboration of the standards should
be undertaken <strong>in</strong> co-operation with the broadest
possible range of <strong>in</strong>terested groups. Twelve of
such (ma<strong>in</strong>ly European) organizations are specifically
mentioned <strong>in</strong> the mandate, which shows
the importance that the European Commission
attaches to a broad support <strong>for</strong> the standardized
methods. In the annex of the mandate the
methods of analysis are specifically mentioned.
These relate to patul<strong>in</strong>, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone,
aflatox<strong>in</strong> B1, ochratox<strong>in</strong> A, and fumonis<strong>in</strong>s
B1 and B2, <strong>in</strong> various foodstuffs. For these
tox<strong>in</strong>/food comb<strong>in</strong>ations methods are needed <strong>in</strong>
view of (com<strong>in</strong>g) regulations; however, currently
standardized methods are not yet available. An
additional item on the list of tasks to be undertaken
is the preparation of a review of updated
and extended per<strong>for</strong>mance criteria <strong>for</strong> methods
of analysis of mycotox<strong>in</strong>s. The aim is to produce
an updated and extended version of the exist<strong>in</strong>g
CEN criteria document [28], which has been the
basis <strong>for</strong> lay<strong>in</strong>g down the per<strong>for</strong>mance criteria <strong>for</strong>
mycotox<strong>in</strong> methods <strong>in</strong> current EU legislation. It
is expected that the new CEN tasks will be completed
<strong>in</strong> 2009.
7. Conclusions
In 2004 there were approximately 100 countries
<strong>in</strong> the world, which had specific regulations
<strong>for</strong> mycotox<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> food and feed. Harmonisa-
Hans P. van Egmond and Marco A. Jonker
16
tion of tolerance levels is tak<strong>in</strong>g place <strong>in</strong> several
free trade zones. Especially <strong>in</strong> the EU the number
of harmonized regulations <strong>for</strong> mycotox<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong>
food has rapidly grown, and will further grow <strong>in</strong>
the com<strong>in</strong>g years. With<strong>in</strong> one or two years EU
limits will exist <strong>for</strong> some 50 different tox<strong>in</strong>/food
comb<strong>in</strong>ations. This development is scientifically
supported by complementary activities of various
European organizations (e.g. EFSA, SCOOP,
CEN and CRL). In addition, repeat<strong>in</strong>g conferences
(e.g. World Mycotox<strong>in</strong> Forum and IUPAC
Conferences on <strong>Mycotox<strong>in</strong>s</strong> and Phycotox<strong>in</strong>s) and
several large EU-funded European research and
network<strong>in</strong>g projects (e.g. BioCop, MON ˙ IQA)
have an impact as well. In Turkey also detailed
legal limits exist <strong>for</strong> several mycotox<strong>in</strong>/food comb<strong>in</strong>ations.
Legal limits <strong>in</strong> Turkey exist <strong>for</strong> the
aflatox<strong>in</strong>s, ochratox<strong>in</strong> A and patul<strong>in</strong>. Some limits
are the same as those applied <strong>in</strong> the EU. Clear
differences also exist <strong>in</strong> the regulations, as compared
to the EU. This means that several of the
Turkish mycotox<strong>in</strong> regulations would need to be
modified and extended, should the country become
a member of the European Union. Initiatives
to <strong>in</strong>crease Turkish <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> European
research projects and network<strong>in</strong>g activities will
create a good environment to facilitate this harmonization
process.
8. Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank the <strong>Food</strong> and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations <strong>for</strong>
permission to make use of material published
<strong>in</strong> 2004 <strong>in</strong> FAO <strong>Food</strong> and Nutrition Paper 81:
“Worldwide regulations <strong>for</strong> mycotox<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> food
and feed <strong>in</strong> 2003”. Thanks are also due to Ir.
Frans Verstraete (European Commission, Belgium)
and Prof. Dr. Dilek Heperkan (Istanbul
Technical University, Turkey) <strong>for</strong> their critical assessment
of the data presented <strong>in</strong> tables 2 and 3
of this article.
References
[1] FAO <strong>Food</strong> and Nutrition Paper 81, <strong>Food</strong> and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Rome, Italy (2004).
[2] Fifty-sixth meet<strong>in</strong>g of the Jo<strong>in</strong>t FAO/WHO Expert
Committee on <strong>Food</strong> Additives (JECFA).
FAO <strong>Food</strong> and Nutrition Paper 74, <strong>Food</strong> and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Rome, Italy (2001).