Foods that are not only contaminated with lead are considered to be a major health hazard. The EU is now tightening limits to fight cancer – now also for cadmium.
Brussels – As part of the European plan to fight cancer, new limit values for cadmium in certain foods came into force this Tuesday.
Stricter or additional maximum levels apply, for example, to a number of types of fruit, vegetables and grains as well as oilseeds. In the future, rice will only have a maximum content of 0.15 instead of 0.2 milligrams per kilogram. For citrus fruits, pome fruits, stone fruits and bananas, for example, it has been reduced from 0.05 to 0.02 milligrams per kilogram.
The background to the new limit values for the toxic and carcinogenic heavy metal cadmium is based on data collected after the implementation of risk reduction measures recommended in 2014 on the occurrence. According to the responsible EU Commission, these show that it is possible to reduce the cadmium content in many foods.
The heavy metal gets into the environment in particular through combustion processes or as a component of sewage sludge. It can also be introduced into the soil through phosphate fertilization. New limit values for lead in food came into force on Monday.
The European plan to fight cancer was presented in February and provides for a number of other measures in addition to new limit values. They include, for example, an EU cancer screening program and an EU-wide network of cancer centers. “In 2020, 2.7 million people in the EU were diagnosed with cancer. Another 1.3 million people died of the disease, including over 2,000 young people, ”explains the EU Commission of the four billion euro project. If you don’t act decisively, there will be around 24 percent more cancer cases by 2035. dpa
