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

4.1. Trade Contacts
Preferably, regulations should be brought <strong>in</strong>to
harmony with those <strong>in</strong> <strong>for</strong>ce <strong>in</strong> other countries
with which trade contacts exist. In fact, this approach
has been applied <strong>in</strong> the areas of the EU,
MERCOSUR and Australia/New Zealand, where
now harmonized regulations <strong>for</strong> some mycotox<strong>in</strong>s
exist. Strict regulative actions may lead import<strong>in</strong>g
countries to ban or limit the import of commodities,
such as certa<strong>in</strong> food gra<strong>in</strong>s, which can
cause difficulties <strong>for</strong> export<strong>in</strong>g countries <strong>in</strong> f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g
or ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g markets <strong>for</strong> their products. For
example, the str<strong>in</strong>gent regulations <strong>for</strong> aflatox<strong>in</strong> Bl
<strong>in</strong> animal feedstuffs, established <strong>in</strong> the EU <strong>in</strong> the
1980s and 1990s [15], led European animal feed
manufacturers to switch from groundnut meal to
other prote<strong>in</strong> sources to <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>in</strong> feeds; this had
an impact on the export of groundnut meal of
some develop<strong>in</strong>g countries [16]. The distortion
of the market caused by regulations <strong>in</strong> import<strong>in</strong>g
countries may lead to export of the less contam<strong>in</strong>ated
foods and feeds leav<strong>in</strong>g those <strong>in</strong>ferior
foods and feeds <strong>for</strong> the local market. Some countries
apply different limits <strong>for</strong> aflatox<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> certa<strong>in</strong>
products depend<strong>in</strong>g on the dest<strong>in</strong>ation.
4.2. <strong>Food</strong> Supply
The regulatory philosophy should not jeopardize
the availability of some basic commodities
at reasonable prices. Especially <strong>in</strong> the develop<strong>in</strong>g
countries, where food supplies are already limited,
drastic legal measures may lead to lack of
food and to excessive prices. For <strong>in</strong>stance, the
dramatic food security situation <strong>in</strong> parts of Africa
has led to measures that prioritise food sufficiency
above food safety. <strong>Mycotox<strong>in</strong>s</strong> are an important
problem as evidenced by occasional outbreaks of
human mycotoxicoses, such as acute aflatoxicosis
<strong>in</strong> Kenya <strong>in</strong> 2004 and 2005 [17], the role of
aflatox<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> liver cancer and stunted growth <strong>in</strong>
children <strong>in</strong> western Africa [18] and fumonis<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong>
oesophageal cancer <strong>in</strong> South Africa [19]. In the
western world, where sufficiency of food is not an
issue, (low) mycotox<strong>in</strong> limits <strong>in</strong> food are en<strong>for</strong>ceable
without too many difficulties.
4.3. Synopsis
Weigh<strong>in</strong>g the various factors at the <strong>in</strong>terface
of science, food security and regulations is not a
trivial activity and common sense is a major factor
<strong>for</strong> reach<strong>in</strong>g a decision. Public health officials
are confronted with a complex problem: mycotox<strong>in</strong>s,
and particularly the carc<strong>in</strong>ogenic mycotox<strong>in</strong>s,
Hans P. van Egmond and Marco A. Jonker
4
Africa 2003
Asia/Oceania 2003
Europe 2003
Lat<strong>in</strong> America 2003
North America 2003
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
!g/kg
Figure 1. Ranges (bars) and typical limits (∆) <strong>for</strong>
total aflatox<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> food.
should be excluded from food as much as possible.
S<strong>in</strong>ce the substances are present <strong>in</strong> foods
as natural contam<strong>in</strong>ants, however, human exposure
cannot be completely prevented, and exposure
of the population to some level of mycotox<strong>in</strong>s
has to be tolerated. Despite the dilemmas, mycotox<strong>in</strong>
regulations have been established <strong>in</strong> the
past decades <strong>in</strong> many countries, and newer regulations
are still be<strong>in</strong>g drafted. Particularly <strong>in</strong> the
European Union many developments take place
<strong>in</strong> the mycotox<strong>in</strong> regulatory area, which are scientifically
underp<strong>in</strong>ned by various European activities.
5. The mycotox<strong>in</strong> regulatory situation <strong>in</strong>
the world, the European Union and
Turkey
5.1. Worldwide mycotox<strong>in</strong> regulations
Several times <strong>in</strong> the last decades (<strong>in</strong> 1981,
1987, 1995, 2003) <strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>quiries were
held and published about regulations <strong>for</strong> mycotox<strong>in</strong>s
<strong>in</strong> food and feed. The most recent enquiry
<strong>in</strong> 2003 was carried out by the National
Institute <strong>for</strong> Public Health and the Environment,
under contract with FAO, among the Agricultural
Services of the Dutch Embassies around the
world, with the request to gather up-to-date <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation
from the local authorities on the situation
regard<strong>in</strong>g mycotox<strong>in</strong> regulations, <strong>in</strong> as many
countries of the world as possible. Where this
procedure did not lead to the desired <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation,
personal contacts were used. By the end
of 2003, data were received from 89 countries.
Together with <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation gathered <strong>in</strong> previous
<strong>in</strong>quiries, detailed <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation became available
about the existence or absence of specific myco-