2023-04-28 09:27:12
The EC measure will reduce in particular the permitted concentration of inorganic arsenic in white rice and baby food, among others.
Food, many of them daily rice-based, and drinking water are the main routes of human exposure to arsenic. The European Commission has adopted new rules to reduce the presence of this chemical element in food as a measure to fight cancer. Inorganic arsenic can cause skin, bladder and lung cancer.
The measure will reduce in particular the permitted concentration of inorganic arsenic in the White ricewhile also setting new limits for arsenic in many everyday rice-based foods, infant formulas, baby foods, fruit juices, and saltthe Commission said in a statement.
Already in 2015, the existing maximum levels for arsenic in food products were established based on an EFSA opinion that established that inorganic arsenic can cause the aforementioned cancers.
Now, the European Commission marks the adoption of lower maximum levels with a view to meeting the objectives of the European Plan to Fight Cancer to limit or eliminate the carcinogenic risk associated with chemical substances in food”.
“Today we are taking additional measures to further reduce the risk of exposure to a carcinogenic contaminant in our food chain,” said the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, reports Efe.
For the commissioner, the new rules “are further proof that food safety standards in the EU continue to be the highest in the world.”
The Brussels decision is based on a 2021 scientific report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and comes after member states were asked to monitor the presence of arsenic in food.
Arsenic is present in low concentrations in rocks, soil, and natural groundwater, with food and drinking water being the main routes of human exposure.
Industrial emissions, such as mining and the burning of fossil fuels, can contribute to higher levels of arsenic in the environment, as can the use of fertilizers, wood preservatives, insecticides or herbicides that contain the contaminant.
Foods with more arsenic
Varieties in which the amount of arsenicis older are the brown rice and rice cakes; while white rice and puffed rice breakfast cereals are the ones with the lowest values, according to an analysis of 136 samples of rice and products made from rice, prepared by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU).
The amount of this chemical element detected is below the allowed values by the regulations, but “they could be excessive If the value of 0.3 g daily per kilo of body weightthe strictest of those established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA),” says the OCU.
In the instant cereal porridge Arsenic has also been found and alerts that the amount detected is “enough for two servings to exceed the maximum allowable limit for a six-month-old baby.” On the contrary, in in children’s jars with rice analyzed the amounts of arsenic are undetectable.
Las began are identified as important sources of total arsenic, mainly in the form of organic arsenic, but specifically the Hiziki seaweed is well known for its high levels of inorganic arsenic, and for this reason different food safety agencies warn consumers about the convenience of not eating or reducing consumption of this type of algae, although its intake is not the majority in Spain.
He Ministry of Health Spanish advises to avoid the consumption of began “in minorsin pregnant or lactating women, as well as in people with thyroid dysfunction or who consume medicines with iodine” by containing high doses of arsenic y other contaminants. The world of algae is so vast that possibly not all of them have an excess of arsenic and iodine, but when in doubt these groups are recommended not to consume them.
Today, arsenic is known to be present in the fish in its organic forms, the least toxic. Organic arsenic that is easily eliminated through urine, so it would not pose a health risk, according to the WHO. It was in 2004, when the risk from exposure to arsenic through the diet was evaluated for the first time in the European Union (EU).
It was then, with the data available from the Member States, that fish was identified as the main source of exposure dietary arsenic for the average adult population. However, this study, like many other studies on arsenic, was focused on total arsenic as it is still there were no methods of analysis for discrimination of the different chemical species of arsenic.
It is inorganic arsenic that has been classified as a carcinogen in humans because there is sufficient scientific evidence to support it, in addition, it is an element that has numerous toxic effects, the main effect of prolonged exposure being skin lesions. It can also cause bladder, lung and skin cancer, reports AESAN.
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