General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods

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 Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food (GSCTF) was accepted in 1997 by the CAC, the superior body of the Codex system, in the form of a Preamble with five Annexes.3 The GSCTF, however, does not yet contain figures pertaining to the maximum limits (MLs) for contaminants and... 

A review of the international legislation concerning food was recently presented in International Standards for Food Safety 24 This review contains a chapter on the Codex Alimentarius General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food where more information about the development and the content of the GSCTF can be found.25 There are also other chapters of significance for readers who wish to seek further information on specific subjects concerning international food legislation. 

The function of the Codex Alimentarius (Food Code) in its current incarnation is to establish food health standards that provide a harmonized reference for international trade in foodstuffs. Legislation developed by the European Union and others is assisted in the case of toxic elements such as lead through the Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods (GSCTF). The Code s legal importance is significant, inasmuch as it has 171 member countries, including all states of the European Union and, since 2003, the European Community. 

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. 

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