PhosAgro, Moscow, said it welcomes the decision by the European Commission (E.C.) to further reduce cadmium limits in a range of foodstuffs in the European Union (E.U.).
The E.U. on Aug. 10 amended its 1881/2006 regulation that set maximum levels of cadmium in a range of foodstuffs, reducing by at least half the previously established maximum level. The expanded list of food products affected by the new restriction on cadmium content includes 66 items, and came into effect at the end of August.
The listed foodstuffs include baby formula and baby food, fruit and vegetables, nuts and fungi, pulses and seeds, cereals, chocolate and cocoa products, meat and fish, salt, and certain food supplements
The Commission made the decision to amend the original regulation following an analysis of the long-term data on cadmium content in food products in the E.U., as well as the accumulating data pointing to the negative impact of cadmium on health.
In its Official Journal, the E.C. referred to the conclusion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that cadmium accumulates in the body over time and is primarily toxic to the kidneys.
Under the original regulation, the Commission had established a tolerable weekly intake for cadmium of 2.5 μg/kg body weight. However, in its latest analysis, referring to the EFSA findings, it concluded that the mean exposure for adults across the E.U. is close to, or slightly exceeds, the tolerable weekly intake. It further concluded that subgroups, such as children and people living in highly contaminated areas, may exceed the tolerable weekly intake by about two-fold.
The E.C. said foodstuffs that do not comply with the new maximum cadmium levels that were placed on the E.U. market before the new regulation came into force may remain on the market until Feb. 28, 2022.
PhosAgro said it was pleased to see the global community and the agricultural industry paying increasing attention to issues of food security and human health protection.
“Our fertilizers easily meet the most stringent environmental and quality requirements for applying the E.U. green label,” said PhosAgro in a Sept. 6 statement. “This enables European agricultural producers to make an informed choice in favor of eco-efficient mineral fertilizers so that the crops they grow and the food they produce are safe for consumers.”
PhosAgro developed its own Green Label for its fertilizers, whereby the cadmium content – it states – is less than 5 mg/kg P2O5.
The E.U. Council in May 2019 adopted new rules for placing fertilizer products on the E.U. market (GM May 24, 2019). The new rules include obligatory maximum contaminant levels, including a maximum limit for cadmium content of 60 mg/kg P2O5. A review clause requires the Commission to review the limit values, with a view to assessing the feasibility of reducing them, four years after the date of application of the new rules (i.e., seven years after their entry into force). The new fertilizer regulation, which replaces the previous 2003 fertilizer regulation, comes into force on July 16, 2022.
While the new rules will not apply to imported raw materials such as phosphate rock, without a specific decadmiation treatment the final fertilizer product retains most of the original cadmium content of the rock feedstock.
PhosAgro and other Russian fertilizer producers that mine their own phosphate rock supply benefit from the natural low cadmium content of Russia’s igneous phosphate rocks.