COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
of 11 September 2014
amending the Annex to Recommendation 2013/711/EU on the reduction of the presence of dioxins, furans and PCBs in feed and food
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2014/663/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European unio, and in particular Article 292 thereof,
wheras:
(1)
Action levels for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs have been set by Commission Recommendation 2013/711/EU (1) in order to stimulate a pro-active approach to reduce the presence of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in food.
(2)
It is appropriate to align the action level for dioxin-like PCBs in clays as food supplement to the action level applicable to the same clays intended for animal feed as established by Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) and to align the action level for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in cereals intended for human consumption to the action levels applicable to cereals intended for animal feed.
(3)
Oilseeds have been found contaminated with dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs and while an action level was established for oilseeds intended for animal feed, no such level was established for oilseeds intended for human consumption. Therefore, it is appropriate to set action levels for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in oilseeds intended for human consumption.
(4)
For dried fruits and vegetables (including dried herbs) it is appropriate to apply specific concentration factors for the drying as provided for in Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 (3).
(5)
Recommendation 2013/711/EU should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION:
The Annex to Recommendation 2013/711/EU is replaced by the Annex to this Recommendation
Done at Brussels, 11 September 2014.
For the Commission
Tonio BORG
Member of the Commission
(1) Commission Recommendation 2013/711/EU of 3 December 2013 on the reduction of the presence of dioxins, furans and PCBs in feed and food (OJ L 323, 4.12.2013, p. 37).
(2) Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal feed (OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p. 10).
(3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 of 19 December 2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs (OJ L 364, 20.12.2006, p. 5).
ANNEX
‘ANNEX
For the purposes of this Annex the following definitions apply:
(a)
“Dioxins + furans (WHO-TEQ)” means the sum of polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), expressed as World Health Organisation (WHO) toxic equivalent using the WHO-toxic equivalency factors (WHO-TEFs);
(b)
“Dioxin-like PCBs (WHO-TEQ)” means the sum of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), expressed as WHO toxic equivalent using the WHO-TEFs;
(c)
“WHO-TEFs” means the World Health Organisation toxic equivalence factors for human risk assessment based on the conclusions of the World Health Organization (WHO) — International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) expert meeting which was held in Geneva in June 2005 (Martin van den Berg et al., The 2005 World Health Organization Re-evaluation of Human and Mammalian Toxic Equivalency Factors for Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds. Toxicological Sciences 93(2), 223–241 (2006)).