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Outcomes of the 2nd Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods
The Second Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods took place in The Hague, Netherlands, 31 March – 4 April 2008. Among others, the CCCF discussed the following issues:
- Draft maximum level for total aflatoxins in almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios for further processing.
- Draft maximum level for total aflatoxins in almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios “ready-to-eat”.
- Proposed draft sampling plan for aflatoxin contamination in almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts and pistachios.
- Discussion paper on maximum levels for total aflatoxins in “ready-to-eat” almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios.
- Discussion paper on aflatoxin contamination in Brazil nuts
- Proposed draft code of practice for the prevention and reduction of aflatoxin contamination in dried figs.
The INC worked closely with producing and importing countries to successfully defend new Maximum Levels of Aflatoxins in Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios.
After discussion, the CCCF reached consensus to increase the current maximum total aflatoxin levels to 10 µg/kg for ready-to-eat almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios, and 15 µg/kg for almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios for further processing, following INC’s recommendations. These are very good news, as it will represent an important reduction in the economic impact of rejected goods while providing consumers with confidence in the safety of the food supply.
During the meeting, the CCCF also agreed to use a 20 kg sample, one single test for goods for further processing and 2 tests of 10 kg for “ready-to-eat” goods. This new agreement means a decrease in rejections by 40-50 percent.
The INC, as Official Non-Government Observer (NGO), was represented by Mr. Pino Calcagni, Chairman of the Scientific and Government Affairs Committee, and Ms. Julie Adams, Vice-Chairman. As preparation of the meeting, the INC circulated a brochure on GAP and GMP to all participating delegations. |
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Proceedings of the 10th Asian Nutrition Congress
The proceedings of the 10th Asian Congress of Nutrition have been recently published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 17, Supplement 1 “Diet, Nutrition and Optimal Health: from Food Supply to Nutrigenomics”.
The INC and INC-NREF sponsored the session “Health Benefits of Tree Nuts”, held on September 11th 2007, in Taipei, Taiwan, as well as a dinner that same evening with the session speakers and representatives of the Korean Nutrition Society, the Taiwan Society of Lipids and Atherosclerosis, the Taiwan National University, the Taiwan Nutrition Society and the Taipei Medical University.
The supplement is available at the following link: http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw:80/server/APJCN/Volume17/vol17suppl.1/abstracts.php
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INC invited at FRUCOM meeting
The INC was kindly invited to attend the FRUCOM meeting held on March 18th, 2008, in Brussels, Belgium, where Mr. Frans Verstraete, Chair of the Expert Committee on Agricultural Contaminants at the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission, and Mr. Paolo Caricato, Specialist in Veterinary Legislation at DG SANCO, gave lectures on environmental and industrial contaminants, mycotoxins, the forthcoming legislation on official controls on “high risk” products of plant origin and the approval of pre-export checks. All the attendees of the meeting had the chance to post comments and questions and exchange views with the officials of the EC. The INC was represented by Mr. Pino Calcagni, Chairman of the Scientific and Government Affairs Committee, and Ms. Irene Gironès, Statistics and Database Coordinator.
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New Scientific & Regulatory issues on the INC website
Scientific Studies
• Chen C-YO, Blumberg JB. Phytochemical composition of nuts. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2008;17 (S1):329-332.
• Salas-Salvado J, Casas-Agustench P, Murphy MM, Lopez-Uriarte P, Bullo M. The effect of nuts on inflammation. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2008;17 (S1):333-336.
Prof. Jordi Salas-Salvadó is member of the INC Scientific and Government Affairs Committee.
• Mattes RD. The energetics of nut consumption. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2008;17 (S1):337-339.
• Griel AE, Cao Y, Bagshaw DD, Cifelli AM, Holub B, Kris-Etherton PM. A macadamia nut-rich diet reduces total and LDL-cholesterol in mildly hypercholesterolemic men and women. J Nutr. 2008 Apr;138(4):761-7.
• Eglezos S, Huang B, Stuttard E. A survey of the bacteriological quality of preroasted peanut, almond, cashew, hazelnut, and Brazil nut kernels received into three Australian nut-processing facilities over a period of 3 years. J Food Prot. 2008 Feb;71(2):402-4.
• Sung B, Pandey MK, Ahn KS, Yi T, Chaturvedi MM, Liu M, Aggarwal BB. Anacardic acid (6-nonadecyl salicylic acid), an inhibitor of histone acetyltransferase, suppresses expression of NF-{kappa}B-regulated gene products involved in cell survival, proliferation, invasion and inflammation through inhibition of I{kappa}B{alpha} kinase, leading to potentiation of apoptosis. Blood. 2008 Mar 18.
• Rodrigues RA, Grosso CR. Cashew gum microencapsulation protects the aroma of coffee extracts. J Microencapsul. 2008 Feb;25(1):13-20.
• Oliveira I, Sousa A, Morais JS, Ferreira IC, Bento A, Estevinho L, Pereira JA. Chemical composition, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of three hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivars. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 May;46(5):1801-7.
• Ozay G, Seyhan F, Pembeci C, Saklar S, Yilmaz A. Factors influencing fungal and aflatoxin levels in Turkish hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) during growth, harvest, drying and storage: A 3-year study. Food Addit Contam. 2008 Feb;25(2):209-18. Prof. Güner Özay is member of the INC Scientific and Government Affairs Committee.
• Pereira JA, Oliveira I, Sousa A, Ferreira IC, Bento A, Estevinho L. Bioactive properties and chemical composition of six walnut (Juglans regia L.) cultivars. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Feb 8.
• Trucksess MW, Scott PM. Mycotoxins in botanicals and dried fruits: A review. Food Addit Contam. 2008 Feb;25(2):181-92.
• Rankin JW, Andreae MC, Oliver Chen CY, O'Keefe SF. Effect of raisin consumption on oxidative stress and inflammation in obesity. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2008 Mar 18.
•Innis SM, Friesen RW. Essential n-3 fatty acids in pregnant women and early visual acuity maturation in term infants. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):548-57.
Regulations
• JECFA Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants. Sixty-eighth report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.
• JECFA Compendium of Food Additive Specifications. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 68th Meeting 2007.
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 260/2008 of 18 March 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing Annex VII listing active substance/product combinations covered by a derogation as regards post harvest treatments with a fumigant.
• Annex III: part A. Draft Temporary MRLs in view of the first establishment of Annex III part A to Regulation (EC) 396/2005.
• Annex III: part B. Draft Temporary MRLs in view of the first establishment of Annex III part B to Regulation (EC) 396/2005.
• FVO Food and Veterinary Office Programme of Audits and Inspections 2008.
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Regulatory News
Update: EC Pesticide Legislation
The Official Journal of the European Union has published on March 19th, 2008, the “Commission Regulation (EC) 260/2008 of 18 March 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing Annex VII listing active substance/product combinations covered by derogation as regards post harvest treatments with a fumigant”.
It lists the active substances and product combinations used as fumigants for which Member States may authorize by way of derogation, further to a post-harvest treatment with a fumigant on their own territory, residue levels exceeding the EU MRLs. This derogation has been established with the aim to prevent trade disruption of stored products that underwent post-harvest treatments with fumigants.
This regulation will enter into force on September 1st, 2008, when the full harmonization of pesticides MRLs set under Regulation 396/2005 will enter into force.
Commission Regulation 260/2008
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RASFF Notifications
EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed
· Weeks 9-13
ALERT NOTIFICATIONS
- Dried figs from Greece (1).
- Peanuts from the Russian Federation, via the Czech Republic (1).
- Pistachios from Iran (2), Luxembourg (1) and the United Kingdom (1).
- Traces of peanut in dried raisins from Germany, raw material from Turkey (1).
Alert Notifications are released when a food or feed presenting a serious risk is on the market and when immediate action is required.
INFORMATION NOTIFICATIONS
- Dried apricots from Turkey (1) and Germany (1).
- Dried fig paste from Turkey (2).
- Dried prunes from Argentina (1).
- Hazelnuts from Turkey (1).
- Peanut butter from India (1).
- Peanut paste from Ghana (1).
- Peanuts from Argentina (1), China (1) and unknown origin (1).
- Pistachios from Turkey (1).
Information Notifications concern a food or feed for which a risk has been identified, but for which the other member states do not have to take immediate action, because the product has not yet reached their market.
BORDER REJECTIONS
- Almonds from USA (2).
- Dried apricots from Turkey (1).
- Dried figs from Turkey (4).
- Dried raisins from Iran (1).
- Glutinous rice balls with peanut butter from Malaysia (1).
- Halawa with pistachios from Lebanon (1).
- Hazelnuts from Turkey (5).
- Peanuts from Argentina (2), China (18), Egypt (5), India (1), Paraguay (4), USA (1) and Vietnam (1).
- Pine nuts from Turkey (1).
- PistachiosfromIran (8), Kyrgyzstan (1) and USA (2).
Border Rejections concern food and feed consignments that have been tested and rejected at the external borders of the EU and the European Economic Area when a health risk was found. The notifications are transmitted to all EEA border posts in order to reinforce controls and to ensure that the rejected product does not re-enter the Community through another border post.
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Research Briefs
Macadamia nut consumption lowers cholesterol
A diet rich in macadamia nuts reduces cholesterol levels in men and women with moderate cholesterol, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition (March 20, 2008). Researchers from Pennsylvania State University, USA, and University of Guelph, Canada, aimed to evaluate the lipid and lipoprotein responses of a blood cholesterol-lowering diet. This diet consisted in macadamia nuts served as the qualified health claims for tree nuts and peanuts stipulates. In the study, 25 moderately hypercholesterolemic subjects (15 women and 10 men), aged 25-65, were given macadamia nuts to incorporate into their diet. They were randomly assigned to receive 1 of the 2 experimental diets during 5 weeks and the alternate diet during the next 5 weeks, with a 2 weeks break, during which they consumed their usual diet. Researchers took twelve-hour blood samples on 2 consecutive days at the beginning of the study and the end of each diet period. The results of the study showed that inclusion of 1,5 ounces of macadamia nuts significantly reduces cholesterol levels. Following this diet represents an estimated 17 percent reduction in risk of myocardial infarction. This study demonstrates that macadamias serve as a rich source of unsaturated fats and supports prior clinical nutrition studies claiming that the consumption of nuts reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Omega-3 deficiency poses poor infant development
According to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, diets low in omega-3 fatty acids present possible risks to infant neurological development. Scientists from University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, recruited 135 pregnant women and divided them into two groups. They gave an omega-3 fatty acid supplement to the first group, and placebo to the second one. Once the babies were born, researchers did vision tests to the infants. The results of the study showed that more infant girls in the placebo than in the other group had a visual acuity below average.
Sterol chocolate may lower cholesterol
According to a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition, chocolate containing plant sterols and cocoa flavanols can reduce significantly the levels of cholesterol.
Researchers from University of Illinois, USA, worked with 49 participants (32 women and 17 men) during two months in a controlled cross-over study. Subjects were divided in two groups in order to compare groups eating sterol and non-sterol fortified chocolate. Scientists measured serum lipids and other cardiovascular markers. Results showed that regular consumption of sterol chocolate resulted in a significant reduction of LDL cholesterol and may support cardiovascular health by improving blood pressure.
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E-mail: inc@nutfruit.org