Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods

Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF), Outcomes of the 2nd Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods, The Hague, Netherlands, March 31-April 4, 2008. 

FAO/WHO. 2009. Discussion paper on cyanogenic glycosides. Third Session, March 2009. Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods. Femenia, A., C. RosseUo, A. Mulet, and J. Canellas. 1995. Chemical composition of bitter and sweet apricot kernels. /. Agric. Food Chem. 43(2) 356-361. 

For three of the products to be considered at the present meeting, the uncertainty evaluation was included in the Codex discussion paper CX/CF 07/1/9 on maximum levels of AFT In ready-to-eat almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios (Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food, 2007). It is interesting to point out that the uncertainty was not the same for the three analysed tree nuts (Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food, 2007 p. 46), and this result reinforces the need to evaluate the uncertainty in each particular product. It was proposed (Whitaker, 2006 Whitaker et al., 2006 Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food, 2007) that the performance of sampling plan designs for Brazil nuts be predicted using the distribution and uncertainty equations for almonds and adjusted using the count per unit mass for Brazil nuts. Flowever, the counts per unit mass for shelled almonds. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran submitted the results of 6187 AFL monitoring data for 1849 pistachio nut lots (ready-to-eat) consigned to be exported from July 2004 to March 2007 (Secretariat of Iran Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food, 2007). The sensitivity of the analytical method was reported with an LOD of 0.2 pg/kg for AFBi and 0.4 pg/kg for AFT, with 24% of the data reported below the LOD. A linear regression coefficient of 1.13 (similar to the number reported in the EFSA opinion) was applied to estimate the level of AFT in a low number of samples (around 4%) in which AFBi data only were submitted. 

Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (2007) CX/CF 07/1/9. Discussion paper on maximum levels for total aflatoxins in ready-to-eat almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios. Rome, Italy, Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (ftp //ftp.fao.org/Codex/cccf1/cf01 09e.pdf). 

Secretariat of I ran Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (2007) Report submitted to the JECFA Secretariat on the frequency distribution and extent of aflatoxin contamination in Iranian pistachios nuts (in-shell), March. 

EU directives and regulations concerning food lead typically arise downstream of the various guidelines and standards set forth by the joint program of the FAO and WHO working through such sister organizations as the Codex Alimentarius (Food Code) Commission (CAC). The latter, in turn, works via its various committees, such as the Executive Committee and the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) and its technical... 

The EU Directives 94/35/EC, 94/36/EC and 95/2/EC on sweeteners, colours and food additives other than colours and sweeteners, limit the amounts of certain food additives that can be used and the range of foods in which they are permitted. Similarly, the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (CCFAC) has published its General Standard on Food Additives (GSFA), which lists the maximum use levels recorded world-wide. Care should be taken when using data from the EU Directive annexes or the GSFA because the figures represent the maximum permitted in each food group. In practice, use levels may need to be much lower to achieve the desired technical effect, particularly if used in combination with other additives intended for the same purpose. Furthermore, the additive is unlikely to be used in all foods in which it is permitted because other additives compete for the same function in the marketplace. 

The Joint FAOAVHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) includes Functional Use in the specifications published in Food and Nutrition Paper 52 and its Addenda. JECFA includes an indication of the functional use or uses, as part of its specifications of purity of additives. JECFA has developed these as part of the description of the additive, and although JECFA provides advice on specifications to the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, the uses quoted in those specifications are not necessarily the same as the functions given for the same substance in the Codex INS system. Frequently more than one use is listed and these uses often refer to countries outside the EU, and may not include the reason for use listed by the EU. The various categories, uses or classes of additive used by the EU, INS and JECFA are listed in Table 11.2. With minor exceptions, the JECFA functional uses marked with an asterisk are generally regarded as processing aids and not additives and therefore outside the scope of this volume. 

Codex Alimentarius Commission (2003). Schedule 1 of the Proposed Draft Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food. Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, Thirty-fifth Session, Arusha, Tanzania. 

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) was established in 1955 to consider chemical, toxicological, and other aspects of contaminants and residues of veterinary drugs in foods for human consumption. The Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants and the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Dmgs in Foods identify food additives, contaminants, and veterinary drug residues that should receive priority evaluation and refer them to JECFA for assessment before incorporating them into Codex standards. 

The Joint FAO/WHO Meetings on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) began work in 1963 following a decision that the Codex Alimentarius Commission should recommend MRLs for pesticides and environmental contaminants in specific food products to ensure the safety of foods containing residues. It was also decided that JMPR should recommend methods of sampling and analysis. There is close cooperation between JMPR and the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR). CCPR identifies those substances requiring priority evaluation. After JMPR evaluation, CCPR discusses the recommended MRLs and, if they are acceptable, forwards them to the Commission for adoption as Codex MRLs. 

Abbreviations. WHO, World Health Organization FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization CCFAC, Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants JECFA, Joint Food and Agriculture Organiza-tion/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives ADI, acceptable daily intake INS, International Numbering System. 

Veterinary drug residues Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food (CCRVDF) and the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (JECFA). 

Questions concerning contaminants were originally dealt with, partly by the many Commodity Committees, and partly in the Codex Committee for Food Additives, which became in the 1980s - when discussions on contaminants gained more prominence in the deliberations of the Committee - the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (CCFAC). Now, the CCFAC, which meets every year, normally in The Hague, The Netherlands, is the appropriate forum in Codex for discussions concerning contaminants. 

The Codex Alimentarius statutes and rules of procedure provide specific information about what form the Codex decisions can take (such as Standards, Guidelines and Codes of Practice etc.), and on how decisions are made. The elaboration of Codex standards follows a stepwise procedure to ensure that all relevant parties, including governments, professional and consumer organisations and other Codex Committees that may have an interest in the content of a standard have several opportunities to express their opinion (Fig. 12.1). Typically, the need for a draft standard for a contaminant in foods will be recognised by the CCFAC as a result of a discussion in the Committee. Such a discussion will often be based on a Position Paper produced by one or more Member States that can provide particular experience or expertise on the problem. The CCFAC Chairman and the Codex Secretariat will ensure that this Member State or states, sometimes supported by a drafting group, will provide a draft standard as basis for the further, more formal work. The draft standard will be sent for comments to the parties concerned and subsequently discussed first time in the CCFAC on step 3. 

Within the Codex system, the contaminants considered in this section are mainly dealt with by the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (CCFAC), which is hosted by the Netherlands. Many of the Member States of the European Union are very active in CCFAC. For example, Denmark and the Netherlands have been instrumental in developing the Codex General Standard on Contaminants and Toxins and draft limits for lead in various foods. Sweden has developed a proposal for a limit for ochratoxin A in cereals and cereal products and France has proposed a maximum level for patulin in apple juice. 

When the CAC was formed it decided to utilize the expert scientific advice provided by JECFA on matters relating to the toxicological and specifications activities of food additives. A system was established whereby the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, a general subject committee, identified food additives that should receive priority attention, which were then referred to JECFA for assessment before being considered for inclusion in Codex food standards. 

JECEA is an independent expert committee established (and jointly administered) by the FAO and the WHO in 1956 to evaluate the safety of food additives. Uie work has since expanded to include the evaluation of the safety of contaminants, naturally occurring toxicants and residues of veterinary drugs in food. JECFA serves as the risk assessor for the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF), establishing an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for a veterinary drug when sufficient information is available, recommending maximum residue limits (MRLs) for consideration by... 

In the Codex Procedure Manual 13 edition (2003), it is clearly written that All provisions in respect of food additives (including processing aids) and contaminants contained in Codex commodity standards should be referred to the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants preferably after the standards have been advanced to step 5 of the Procedure for the Elaboration of Codex Standards or before they are considered by the Commodity Committee concerned at Step 7, though such reference should not be allowed to delay the progress of the Standard to the subsequent Steps of the Procedure. ... 

All provisions in respect of food additives will require to be endorsed by the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, on the basis of technological justification submitted by the commodity committees and of the recommendations of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives concerning the safety-in-use (acceptable daily intake (ADI) and other restrictions) and an estimate of the potential and, where possible, the actual intake of the food additives, ensuring conformity with the General Principles for the Use of Food Additives . 

At the request of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants at its thirty-eighth session (Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2006), the Committee evaluated the enzyme isoamylase (glycogen a-1,6-glucanohydrolase EC 3.2.1.68). Isoamylase catalyses the hydrolysis of 1,6-a-D-glucosidic branch linkages in glycogen, amylopectin and their beta-limit dextrine. It has no or only limited activity on linear polysaccharides linked by a-1,6-glycosidic bonds (e.g. pullulan) and on alpha-limit dextrine. 

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