UN strengthens norms on lead in infant formula,arsenic in rice

Adopting new standards to protect consumer health worldwide, UN food standards body Codex Alimentarius Commission has set out maximum acceptable levels of lead in infant formula and of arsenic in rice.
The Commission, jointly run by the United Nation's food agency FAO and the World Health Organisation (WHO), sets global food safety and quality standards to promote safer and more nutritious food for consumers worldwide.
Codex standards serve in many cases as a basis for national legislation and provide the food safety benchmarks for international food trade.
In an annual meeting held this week, FAO said, "The Commission adopted a recommendation that no more than 0.01 mg per kg of lead should be permitted in infant formula as consumed."

Lead occurs in the environment and trace amounts can end up in the ingredients that are used in the production of infant formula. Levels of lead in infant formula can be controlled by sourcing raw materials from areas where lead is less present, it said in a statement.
Also for the first time, Codex adopted a maximum level for arsenic in rice at 0.2 mg per kg, FAO said.

Stating that rice in particular can take up more arsenic than other crops, FAO said as a staple food for millions of people, it can contribute significantly to arsenic exposure, which is detrimental to human health.

Arsenic contamination in rice is of particular concern in some Asian countries where paddy fields are irrigated with groundwater containing arsenic-rich sediments pumped from shallow tube wells, it said, adding that improved irrigation and agricultural practices can help reduce arsenic contamination.
The Codex Commission also agreed to develop a new code of practice that will help countries comply with the maximum level set and provide producers with good agricultural and manufacturing techniques to prevent and reduce contamination.
It recommended that the use of certain veterinary drugs should be restricted in food-producing animals in order to prevent residual amounts of the drugs remaining in meat, milk, eggs or honey.

The eight drugs (chloramphenicol, malachite green, carbadox, furazolidone, nitrofural, chlorpromazine, stilbenes and olaquinadox), including antimicrobials and growth promoters, can potentially have adverse effects on human health and may contribute to the development of drug resistance, FAO said.