Metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury are naturally occurring chemical compounds. They can be present at various levels in the environment, such as in soil, water, and the atmosphere.Metals can also be present as residues in foods due to their presence in the environment, due to human activities such as agriculture, industry or automobile exhausts, or due to contamination during food processing and storage.
People can be exposed to these metals from the environment or by ingesting contaminated food or water. Their accumulation in the body can lead to harmful effects over time.
EFSA has just published a scientific opinion on the health risks associated with complex organoarsenics especially in foods , focusing on the most common ones: arsenobetaine, arsenolipids and arsenosugars .
The highest levels of complex organoarsenic species were detected in fish, crustaceans, molluscs and algae .
Based on a qualitative review of all identified uncertainties, EFSA considers it likely that dietary exposures to arsenobetaine (AsB) and glycerol arsenosugar (AsSugOH) are not of health concern .
However, due to insufficient data, no conclusions could be drawn for other types of arsenosugars and for arsenolipids.
EU framework
The principles of EU legislation on contaminants in food are contained in Regulation 315/93/EEC:Foods containing a contaminant in quantities that are unacceptable from the point of view of public health, and in particular from the toxicological point of view, must not be placed on the market.
Contaminant levels must be kept as low as possible by following recommended good working practices.
In order to protect public health, it is necessary to set maximum levels for certain contaminants.
Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 sets maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs, including lead, cadmium, mercury and inorganic tin. It does not cover radioactive substances.
Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 concerns the methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of maximum levels of these metals.
The monitoring of residues of chemical elements in food of animal origin is specified in Council Directive 96/23/EC. (Source: (https://www.efsa.europa.eu/ )