Should every hazardous substance in food be regulated by a specific food safety standard?
It is not necessary and not possible to set up limits for all the hazardous substances in food. The establishment of the limit standard should be based on the results of food safety risk assessment. When the assessment results indicate that it may have adverse effects on human health, the food involved shows a significant manifestation to the total exposure of consumers and the public health protection for consumers can be generated after the establishment of the standard, the food safety standard could be established.
Extended analysis
According to Food Safety Law, the development of national food safety standards should base on the scientific and reasonable, open and transparent, safe and reliable principle of safeguarding public health and the results of food safety risk assessment.
There is a wide variety of different foods and are thousands of contaminants in foods. Whether to set up a limit for a certain contaminant in a certain type of food or not, the authorities must evaluate how harmful of the contaminant itself is, how much of the contaminant is contained in the food, and how much of the contaminant will be ingested by human consumption. When above mentioned three indicators show the contaminant will impair the public health, a limit standard of it must be established. Under these circumstances there is no need to establish the limit standard: if the contaminant is low toxicity substance, or is toxic while the concentration in food is low, or is toxic and with a relatively high concentration while food is rarely eaten, no harm will be brought to public health.
Taking China as an example, China only set up limit standards for contaminants that are of significance for public health protection, based on the monitoring results of contaminants in foods, the daily exposure of dietary contaminants and the contribution rate of major foods in China. In National Food Safety Standards - Limits of Contaminants in Foods (GB 2762-2017), contaminants that may pose a risk to public health and their limits in foods are listed.
Source: NHC Beijing
Please note: Original article of Global Foodmate of Information Service and Business Department, please indicate the source from the Global Foodmate if reprint.
