Background. Appropriately shaped food law and food safety policy pursued by European Union institutions, covering all stages of the food chain, are intended to guarantee consumers safe food and access to appropriate information related to food safety, including withdrawals of dangerous products. In addition to microbiological threats, chemical threats are a key issue, including: mycotoxins, plant toxins, heavy metals, persistent halogenated organic pollutants, process pollutants and others. The original legal act establishing maximum levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs was Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 of 19 December 2006, which, after numerous amendments, was repealed and replaced by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023. The first part of the work characterized plant toxins including erucic acid, tropane and pyrrolizidine alkaloids and opium alkaloids, hydrogen cyanide and cyanogenic glycosides, and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol equivalents as food contaminants. The aim of the second part of this study was to characterize other food contaminants, the maximum permissible levels of which were introduced by amendments to Regulation EC 1881/2006 and included in the current EU Regulation 2023/915.
Results and conclusions. Numerous amendments to Regulation 1881/2006 and, consequently, Regulation 2023/915, in addition to the maximum permissible levels of plant toxin residues, have introduced the highest permissible levels for red valgus spores and ergot alkaloids – in the category of mycotoxins, for arsenic – in the category of metals and other elements, for perfluoroalkyl substances – in the group of persistent halogenated organic pollutants, for the sum of 3-monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD) and 3-MCPD fatty acid esters, expressed as 3-MCPD and glycidyl fatty acid esters, expressed as glycidol – in the process pollutant category and for melamine and perchlorate, classified as other pollutants. The list of chemical hazards is, of course, not exhaustive and, in accordance with the recommendations of the European Commission, the traces of brominated flame retardants, the presence of nickel, hydrocarbons of mineral oils and the presence of furan and alkylfurans in food are subject to monitoring.