The European Union plans to tighten its rules on toxic chemicals like cancer-causing dioxins in food and animal feed, hoping to avoid a repeat of a recent scare in three EU countries, its executive arm said on Friday. While the EU already has maximum levels for dioxins, a broad family of chemicals formed by both man-made and natural events, there are no limits on certain chemicals called PCBs that occur in items ranging from lubricants, inks and building materials.

Some of the PCBs, chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons, have toxic properties similar to dioxins. But until a few years ago, there was not information available on them to set thresholds, so their presence in food and feed went unregulated in Europe. From November, that will change as the European Commission sets maximum levels from the combined sum of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs allowed in food and feed. Any product that is found to exceed the limit will have to be removed from sale.

Dioxins and PCBs are toxic chemicals that can cause serious health effects such as cancer, hormone disruption, reduced reproductive ability, skin toxicity and immune system disorders. They are not soluble in water and are highly soluble in fat. Nor are they biodegradable, so they are persistent and accumulate in the food chain over time.

Meat, eggs, milk, farmed fish and other food products may be contaminated by dioxins from feedstuffs, especially from materials such as fishmeal and fish oil. Contamination can also come from local environmental factors like waste incinerators.

The European Union is slowly emerging from its latest dioxin scare, with around 650 farms still quarantined in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands after dioxins were found in Belgian pork fat ingredients. The Commission said its move to tighten up laws on dioxin and PCBs was not linked to Europe s latest dioxin case, the first since 2004, when dioxin was found in Dutch potato feed.

"This legislation is not related to the current case of contamination in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany," said Philip Tod, Commission health and consumer protection spokesman. "When this legislation takes effect in November, if maximum levels are exceeded then the national authorities will be obliged to take the product off the market," he told a briefing.

The Commission said maximum EU levels for dioxins alone would remain in force for a transitional period but probably be scrapped by the end of 2008. When this happened, the Commission would reduce the maximum combined level for dioxins and PCBs.
(Planet Ark, 06/02/06)