To ensure that food on the market in the EU is as safe as possible for consumers, and to protect them from carcinogenic substances, the European Commission decided on Friday 6 October to set new limits for the use of nitrites and nitrates as food additives.
These new, considerably reduced maximum quantities protect against pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Listeria, Salmonella, Clostridia) and reduce exposure to nitrosamines, some of which are carcinogenic. Based on a rigorous scientific assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the new limits were unanimously approved by the Member States last spring.
Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides said that by setting new limits for nitrites and nitrates in food, “we are delivering on another important action under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan”.
She called on the food industry to implement these science-based rules quickly and, “wherever possible, to reduce them further to protect the health of citizens”.
The new stricter limits take account of the diversity of products and the conditions under which they are manufactured in the EU. They send a clear signal to industry and small-scale producers that it is time to address the challenges posed by the presence of nitrites and nitrates in food across the EU and throughout the food chain. Food business operators now have two years to adapt to these new limits.
Link to the Commission regulation (and its annex): https://aeur.eu/f/8xw (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)