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Food Contaminants

Please note that legislation on contaminants is spread across several different areas of legislation, so it is recommended that you carefully read the entire section.

Under the legislation below, an EU list of contaminants has been established setting maximum limits.

Definition of a contaminant

A 'contaminant' is defined in legislation (Regulation (EEC) No 315/93) as any substance not intentionally added to food which is present in such food as a result of the production (including operations carried out in crop husbandry, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine), manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food or as a result of environmental contamination. 

EU list of contaminants

Nitrates

Mycotoxins

Metals

3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) and glycidyl fatty acid esters

Dioxins and PCBs

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Melamine and its structural analogues

Inherent plant toxins

Perchlorate

EU legislation

This section provides an overview of the main requirements laid down in the legislation relevant to contaminants in food.

The general European Union (EU) principles on contaminants in food are set down in Council Regulation No 315/93/EEC of 8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food (OJ L 37, p1 13/02/1993), as amended.

A 'contaminant' for the purposes of Regulation No. 315/93/EEC, as amended is defined as: 'any substance not intentionally added to food which is present in such food as a result of the production (including operations carried out in crop husbandry, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine), manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food or as a result of environmental contamination'.

Contaminants are chemical hazards, and as such should be identified and adequately controlled in accordance with the requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, as amended. Please see section on Hygiene of Foodstuffs.

Any food containing a contaminant in an amount which is unacceptable from a public health viewpoint and in particular, at a toxicologically significant level must not be placed on the market. Furthermore, contaminant levels must be kept as low as can be reasonably achieved by following good agricultural, fishery and manufacturing practices.

Regulation No. 315/93/EEC, as amended, does however not apply to contaminants which are the subject of more specific Union rules (e.g., pesticide residues, residues of veterinary medicines).

To protect public health, Regulation No. 315/93/EEC, as amended, requires that maximum levels be set for certain contaminants as part of a non-exhaustive EU list. This list is set out in the Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs, as amended.

To note - other legislation containing provisions on contaminants

Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006, as amended, does not provide an exhaustive list of all maximum limits set for contaminants in food.

  • Maximum limits for certain contaminants can be set in commodity-specific standards (vertical legislation, e.g., food of animal origin, spirit drinks, honey, caseins and caseinates, instruments pertaining to infant formulae)
    • Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/127 of 25 September 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the specific compositional and information requirements for infant formula and follow-on formula and as regards requirements on information relating to infant and young child feeding, as amended.
    • Council Directive 2001/110/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to honey, as amended. Please see section on Honey.
    • Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the definition, description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, the use of the names of spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of other foodstuffs, the protection of geographical indications for spirit drinks, the use of ethyl alcohol and distillates of agricultural origin in alcoholic beverages, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, as amended. Please see section on Spirit Drinks.
    • Directive (EU) 2015/2203 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to caseins and caseinates intended for human consumption and repealing Council Directive 83/417/EEC. Please see section on Caseins and Caseinates.
    • Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, as amended. Please see section on Specific Hygiene Rules for Food of Animal Origin.
    • Legislation on water - please see section on Water.
  • Measures other than maximum limits have been set for some contaminants. For acrylamide, benchmark limits have been set in addition to maximum limits, which fall under a different legal framework, i.e., the hygiene legislation. For dioxins, action limits have been set in addition to maximum limits:
  • Specific purity criteria (e.g., food additives), specifications (e.g., novel foods) and restrictions for undesirable substances (e.g., flavourings and food contact materials) have been set in other legal instruments and may contain maximum limits for contaminants. Please see the following sections on Food Additives, Novel Foods, Flavourings and Materials and Articles in Contact With Foodstuffs.
  • There are temporary increased controls for some foods of non-animal origin imported or consigned from certain third countries. This is due to a known or emerging risk, or because of widespread non-compliance with food law.  Annex I of Regulation 2019/1793 on the temporary increase of official controls and emergency measures governing the entry into the Union of certain goods from certain third countries (please see section on Food of non-animal origin) lists the food of non-animal origin subject to a temporary increase of controls at border control posts. This list is reviewed by the Commission at least twice a year.
  • Some contaminants, due to historical use as pesticide, are covered in pesticides legislation (e.g., legacy pesticides, such as DDT; mercury compounds, copper compounds). Please see section on Pesticides Residues in food.
  • For some contaminants more extensive or specific national legislation also exists that is not currently covered by EU legislation, however, any existing national provision is automatically superseded once EU legislation has come into force.
    • Health (Arsenic & Lead in Food) Regulations, 1972 (S.I. No. 44 of 1972); Health (Arsenic & Lead in Food) (Amendment) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 72 of 1992): these regulations set an overall maximum limit for lead and arsenic in food (with some exceptions), and food specific maximum limits. There are however overlaps with EU Regulations, and in those cases, the maximum limit set in Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, as amended supersede the national limit.
    • Health (Erucic Acid in Food) Regulations, 1978 (S.I. No. 123 of 1978); Health (Erucic Acid in Food) (Amendment) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 67 of 1992); European Communities (Erucic Acid in Food) (Method of Analysis) Regulations, 1982 (S.I. No. 271 of 1982): these Regulations specify limits for the erucic acid content of oil and fat and of food to which oil or fat has been added. The method of analysis determines the erucic acid content of oils, fats and compound foodstuffs to which oils and fats have been added. The maximum limits set by these Regulations have been superseded by Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, as amended and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/127 of 25 September 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the specific compositional and information requirements for infant formula and follow-on formula and as regards requirements on information relating to infant and young child feeding, as amended.
    • Health (Tin in Food) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 389 of 1993): these Regulations stipulate that the level of tin in food shall not exceed 200 milligrams per kilogram of food. However, more strict maximum limits have been set in Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, as amended, which supersede this maximum limit.
    • Health (Mineral Hydrocarbons in Food) Regulations, 1972  (S.I. No. 45 of 1972); Health (Mineral Hydrocarbons in Food) (Amendment) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 71 of 1992): these Regulations provide (subject to certain exemptions) that the use of any mineral hydrocarbon in the manufacture or preparation of food and the importation, distribution, sale or exposure for sale of any food containing any mineral hydrocarbon is prohibited. The prohibition does not extend to chewing gum and other products, for which maximum limits of mineral hydrocarbon are prescribed. Specifications are set out for mineral hydrocarbon.

Therefore, although much effort has been made to cover provisions as much as possible, it is important to note that there may be other legislation where requirements are placed on contaminants that are not covered in this section. For this information please consult the other legislation sections on the FSAI website or the Eur-Lex website.

Sampling and Analysis Regulations

In order to check the compliance of a food with the maximum levels laid down in the legislation food must be sampled and analysed in a standardised and reliable way. For this purpose, sampling and analysis Regulations have been implemented to provide standardised approaches for each substance or substance group. The following Regulations are in force:

  • Regulation (EC) No. 333/2007, as amended: lead, cadmium, mercury, inorganic tin, 3-MCPD and benzo(a)pyrene
  • Regulation (EC) No. 401/2006, as amended: mycotoxins
  • Regulation (EU) 2017/644: dioxins, dioxin like PCBs and non-dioxin like PCBs
  • Regulation (EC) No. 1882/2006: Nitrate
  • Regulation (EU) No. 2022/1428: perfluoroalkyl substances

National legislation

In Ireland, the EU legislation on contaminants (including sampling and analysis provisions) is given effect by S.I. No. 218 of 2010 (European Communities (Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010).

The amendments to this Regulation can be found in the following Statutory Instruments:

  • S.I. No. 276 of 2012 European Communities (Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
  • S.I. No. 348 of 2012 European Communities (Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2012
  • S.I. No. 380 of 2013 European Communities (Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2013
  • S.I. No. 143 of 2014 European Communities (Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2014
  • S.I. No. 329 of 2016 European Communities (Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2016
  • S.I. No. 377 of 2017 European Communities (Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

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Full list of contaminants included in Regulation 1881/2006

The following section provides an overview of the contaminants covered in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, as amended and Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158, and where relevant refers to other legislation providing maximum limits on the contaminants listed. Please note, however, that contaminants not included in the Annex of Regulation 1881/2006.

Please see section called -  “To note - other Legislation containing provisions on contaminants” and which may have been included in other legal instruments may not be covered by this list (e.g., hydroxymethylfurfural in honey, methanol in spirit drinks):

Section 1: Nitrate

Section 2: Mycotoxins

  • Aflatoxins
  • Ochratoxin A
  • Patulin
  • Deoxynivalenol
  • Zearalenone
  • Fumonisins
  • T-2 and HT-2 toxin
  • Citrinin
  • Ergot sclerotia and ergot alkaloids

Section 3: Metals

  • Lead
  • Cadmium
  • Mercury
  • Tin (inorganic)
  • Arsenic (inorganic)

Section 4: 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) and glycidyl fatty acid esters

  • 3-monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD)
  • Glycidyl fatty acid esters expressed as glycidol

Section 5: Dioxins and PCBs

Section 6: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Section 7: Melamine and its structural analogues

Section 8: Inherent plant toxins

  • Erucic acid
  • Tropane alkaloids
  • Hydrocyanic acid, including hydrocyanic acid bound in cyanogenic glycosides

Section 9: Perchlorate

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