Other chemical contaminants

Council Regulation 315/93 lays down Community procedures for establishing maximum limits for contaminants (other than pesticide and veterinary drug residues) in food. The Scientific Committee for Food must be consulted on all questions which may have an effect on public health and this committee carries out the toxicological evaluations which underpin the limits set for contaminants. The scientific data which form the basis of the evaluations are obtained mainly from the scientific literature and from the Member States. Data on human exposure to contaminants, such as nitrates, cadmium, aflatoxins and ochratoxin A, have been collected and collated in projects in the programme on scientific co-operation between the Member States (known as SCOOP). 

Proposals for new limits prepared by Commission Working Parties are submitted to the Standing Committee for Foodstuffs, which consists of representatives of the Member States, but is chaired by the Commission. Decisions on new limits are usually made by the Commission according to a Regulatory Committee procedure (Procedure Illb) - for details see section 13.3.4. The Commission publishes the limits as a Regulation in the Official Journal. Methods of sampling and analysis to check compliance with the maximum levels laid down are also published. 

Aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins and zearalenone have been evaluated by the Scientific Committee for Food. The question of maximum levels for some of these mycotoxins in foodstuffs has been discussed for several years in the Committee of Experts - Working Party on Agricultural Contaminants under DG VI (now under DG SANCO). Proposals from this committee are then considered by the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs, prior to adoption by the Commission as Commission Regulations. 

Maximum levels for aflatoxin MI in milk and for aflatoxin B1 and the sum of aflatoxins Bl, B2, G1 and G2 in groundnuts and certain other foods were laid down in Commission Regulation 1525/98 (which amended Regulation 194/97) and came into force on 1 January 1999. The Commission is expected to adopt maximum levels for aflatoxins in spices in the near future. 

The question of maximum levels for ochratoxin A and patulin in certain foods has been under discussion for some time and a decision is expected soon. 

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Monitor pesticides and other chemical contaminants for their company s products Conduct analytical support for their own products in food and environmental media... 

Other chemical contaminants including natural toxins Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (CCFAC) and JECFA. 

In the same survey a total of 8,155 samples of poultry meat were tested for residues of veterinary drugs and other chemical contaminants. Of these 8,055 (98.8%) contained no detectable residues. Residues below the MRL or action level were detected in four (0.05%) samples and above the MRL or action level in 96 (1.2%). 

With some caveats, the toxicological information required is the same as for other chemical contaminants in our food, irrespective of their source. Chronic effects are the main concern - i.e. low-level long-term exposure to migrating substances. One exception is the migration of tin from tinplate steel into canned tomato products where high tin concentrations in food may cause short-term stomach upsets in some people but without any lasting harm. 

The government encourages measurement of the pesticide and other chemical contamination of soil, water and food that has been a much-researched subject in India since the 1970s. Several national and international agencies carry out regular research on toxic chemicals, especially on pesticides in India. In 1986, The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) began a project on surveillance of food contaminants in India and found that 51% of the food items tested were contaminated with various pesticides and 20% of them had pesticide levels above the... 

Recreational and subsistence fishers within the general population consume larger quantities of fish and shellfish than the general population. Because of this, these populations are at greater risk of exposure to PCBs and other chemical contaminants if the waters they fish frequently are contaminated. The EPA advises states to use a screening value of 0.01 ppm of total PCBs (sum of Aroclors) as a criteria to... 

TCDD and other chemical contamination of adjacent land and water as a result of industrial waste disposal at the Love Canal, 102nd Street, and Hyde Park sites in Niagara Falls,... 

Imagine, for a moment, that a foreign nation has dispatched a band of terrorists to the United States. The intruders silently move across the landscape depositing toxic chemicals at a thousand sites around the country. Some of the toxic compounds quickly enter the rivers and underground reservoirs that supply America with drinking water. Other chemicals contaminate our neighborhoods and backyards where our children play. Still others sit like time bombs, destined to contaminate our water supplies after months, years, or even decades. The toxic chemicals carried by these enemies are the products of the most sophisticated laboratories on Earth. They cause birth defects, liver disease, and cancer. Their effects may be felt for generations. 

Membrane materials that offer improved resistance to temperature, pressure, high CO2 content, water and other chemical contaminants are all areas that offer gains in long-term performance desired in commercial applications. 

The correct choice of metal must take account of the nature of the solids and liquids to be treated, their temperature and heat cycles and the presence of any other chemical contaminants. The metal must be capable of being drawn and woven. 

Surface preparation prior to application of the coating is essential. The surface must be free of mill scale, oil, grease, and other chemical contaminents. 

Residue Reviews (vol. 1 in 1962) for basically detailed review articles concerned with any aspects of residues of pesticides and other chemical contaminants in the total environment, including toxicological considerations and consequences. 

Similar to treatment protocols of other chemical contaminants including arsenic, fluoride cannot be removed by typical water treatment means. Boiling, UV treatment, most methods of filtration, and most chemical treatment options are ineffective to remove fluoride from water. Synthetic ion exchange and precipitation processes, activated alumina filters, and reverse osmosis are typically used to remove fluoride from water in the developed world [5, 6]. There are no universally accepted used defluoridation techniques in the developing world with long felt need for development of appropriate technologies. 

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