Changes in EU – legislation for residues of Chlorate and Perchlorate

The Analysis of Chlorate and Perchlorate

For both Chlorate and Perchlorate, changes in EU legislation have recently been published.

Maximum residue limits will apply for Chlorate from the 28th of June.

In Europe, the use of chlorate as a plant protection product has been banned for a number of years. In addition to this direct application as a plant protection product, chlorate can also occur in water as degradation products of disinfectants. If this water is used as irrigation during cultivation of crops, there is a chance that the final product contains too much chlorate. The MRLs in potatoes, vegetables, fruit and other foods varies between 0.05 and 0.7 mg / kg of product. The MRLs are set in regulation EC 749/2020 and are effective from the 28th of June 2020.

Maximum levels for Perchlorate in fruit and vegetables, tea, baby food and cereals from the 1st of July.

Perchlorate is one of the contaminants that can get into food. This chemical compound occurs naturally in our environment, but even more because it is a degradation product of fertilizers or disinfectants. Crops can absorb Perchlorate which can result in the contamination of fruits and vegetables with Perchlorate. Long-term consumption of products with perchlorate can cause health risks. That is why the EU has decided to include the levels of Perchlorate in certain products in Regulation EC 1881/2006. From the 1st of July 2020, these maximum levels will apply to the product groups: fruit and vegetables, tea, baby food and processed cereal-based foods.

 

Perchlorate MRL (mg/kg)
Fruit and vegetables excluding

Cucurbitaceae and Kale

—Leafy vegetables and Herbs

0,05

0,10

0,50

Tea (Camellia sinensis), dried

Herbal and fruit teas, dried

0,75
Infant formulas, follow-on formulas, nutrition for

medical use for infants and young children and toddler food (*)

Baby food

Processed cereal-based foods

0,01

 

0,02

0,01

(*) Preschool food includes milk-based drinks and similar protein-based products for toddlers. These products fall outside the scope of Regulation (EU) No 609/2013

The Residulab of Groen Agro Control can examine your products for Chlorate and Perchlorate residues. For this we have an in-house LC-MSMS method with 0.01 mg/kg as reporting limit. For more information about Perchlorate or Chlorate and the analysis for these residues, please contact us. The MRLs for specific products can also be found in the EU pesticide database (Chlorate) or in the appendix of regulations EC 749/2020 or EC 1881/2006.

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