Reg. (EU) 2023/915: maximum levels of contaminants in food

Context

For years the maximum levels of contaminants in food were governed by Reg. (EC) No 1881/2006, amended repeatedly to add or revise limits. Layering dozens of amending acts had made it hard to read. Reg. (EU) 2023/915 was drafted as a recast: it gathers the limits in force into a single text and repeals the earlier regulation Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 (repealed). Reg. (EC) 1881/2006 remains a historical reference but is no longer law in force and should be cited only as repealed.

What it provides

Reg. (EU) 2023/915 establishes the maximum levels of certain contaminants — substances not intentionally added but present in food as a residue of production, processing or the environment — in food Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2023/915, and prohibits the placing on the market of products exceeding them. The numeric values, broken down by contaminant category and food category, are set out in the regulation's annexes. As a matter of caution this page does not reproduce specific thresholds: the authoritative figure must be read in the official text on EUR-Lex, in the relevant language version.

What changes for operators

Substantively the continuity is strong: the recast reorganises the limits rather than overturning them. Operators must, however, make sure they refer to the new act and no longer to Reg. (EC) 1881/2006, in their self-checking documentation as well as in supply specifications and contracts. Those buying raw materials must be able to demonstrate compliance with the maximum levels along the supply chain: traceability makes it possible to isolate and recall non-compliant batches.

Coordination with Reg. (EC) 852/2004

Reg. (EU) 2023/915 is not an amendment to Reg. (EC) 852/2004: the two acts operate on distinct but complementary planes. Reg. 852/2004 requires the operator to put in place self-checking procedures based on the HACCP principles, starting from identifying the hazards to be prevented, eliminated or reduced Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Chemical and environmental contaminants are, to all intents and purposes, hazards to be considered in that analysis: the maximum levels of Reg. 2023/915 provide the objective parameter against which product acceptability is assessed. In practice, the operator's self-checking plan takes up the contaminant limits as a compliance criterion at the relevant points. For the method of building the plan, see the complete HACCP guide; for the general framework of obligations, see the Reg. (EC) 852/2004 page.