Summary

The Food Monitoring Scheme is a system of repeated representative measurements and evaluations of levels of undesirable substances in and on foodstuffs, including residues of plant protection products, pesticides and veterinary drugs, heavy metals and other contaminants.

Since 2003, the food monitoring scheme has been made up of two complementary analytic programmes. One consists in examination of foodstuffs selected from a market basket developed on the basis of a statistical analysis of dietary habits, with the aim to watch the situation of contamination and residues under representative sampling conditions (market basket monitoring). The other programme consists in examination of particular problems in the framework of special projects (project monitoring). A total of 5,093 samples of domestic and foreign origins were analysed in 2008 in the framework of both programmes.

The following foodstuffs were selected from the market basket:

Food of animal origin

• Yogurt
• Chicken (meat)
• Turkey (meat)
• Scalding sausage
• Salmon
• Trout fillet (smoked)
• Halibut (smoked)
• Common shrimps
• Prawn

Food of vegetal origin

• Thistle oil
• Olive oil (extra virgin)
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Onions
• Cucumber (salad cucumbers)
• French beans
• Carrots
• Red currants
• Pear
• Mandarins/tangerines/satsumas
• Apple juice
• Liquorice
• Chocolate
• Peppermint leaves (dried)
• Rooibos tea

Depending on what undesirable substances were to be expected, the foods were analysed for residues of plant protection products (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides), veterinary drugs, contaminants (for instance, persistent organo-chlorine compounds, musk compounds, elements, nitrate, mycotoxins), and toxic reaction products.

Project monitoring dealt with the nine following subjects:

• Fumonisins in foodstuffs
• Ergot alkaloids in rye flour and products thereof
• Aluminium in panned sweets and coloured decoration of cakes and biscuits
• Aluminium and cadmium in cocoa mass and cocoa powder
• Cadmium in peanuts, oil seed and oil fruit
• Dioxins, dioxin-like and non-dioxin-like PCBs in foodstuffs
• Furan in coffee, ready-to-eat dishes, and apple juice
• Hydroxymethyl furfural in dried plums, plum jam and beverages from dried plums
• Residues of plant protection products in exotic fruits

Interpretation of findings included a comparison with findings from previous years, where this was possible. Yet, we explicitly stress that all statements and evaluation about contamination of foodstuffs made in this report solely refer to the foodstuffs and substances or substance groups analysed in 2008. It is not possible to assess the overall exposure to certain substances, because only part of the market basket can be considered in the analyses of one year, while the substances analysed also occur in other foodstuffs.

Generally, the findings of the 2008 food monitoring programme again support the recommendation that nutrition should be manifold and balanced in order to minimise the dietary intake of undesirable substances, which is unavoidable to some degree.

In particular, findings from the 2008 market basket and project monitoring programmes are summarised as follows:

Residues of plant protection products and pesticides

Food of animal origin

As in previous analyses, main findings in foodstuffs of animal origin were residues of ubiquitous, persistent organo-chlorine insecticides which were extensively applied in the past and with time entered the food chain via environmental contamination. Findings of some substances tend to decline. Prawns and common shrimps in particular hardly carried any residues again, quite in contrast to findings in earlier years. Maximum residue levels (MRLs) were not exceeded.

Food of vegetal origin

Residues of plant protection products were found more or less frequently in all foods of vegetal origin. More than 73% of samples of potatoes, spinach, onions, and apple juice were found without residues. With more than 89%, the portion of samples without quantifiable residues was also high in thistle oil, extra virgin olive oil, and chocolate, yet these products had been analysed for relatively few substances only. Residues were found more frequently in rice, cucumbers, French beans, carrots and peppermint leaves. Here, between 30 and 41% of samples were free from residues. Rooibos tea was found to carry quantifiable residue levels in 75% of samples.

As in previous monitoring analyses, fruits were again the foodstuffs with most findings: between 76 and 90% of the samples of pears, currants, gooseberries and of mandarins/tangerines/satsumas carried quantifiable residues. These fruits also carried the highest numbers of multiple residues. Top of the list were two samples of pears with residues of 14 substances each.

Olive and thistle oil, potatoes, carrots, apple juice, chocolate and Rooibos tea did not contain residues higher than the MRL. In spinach, onions, cucumbers, French beans, currants, gooseberries and mandarins/tangerines/satsumas, between 0.7 and 6.6% of the samples did not comply with MRLs, which is mostly less than in earlier studies. Rice, pears and peppermint leaves, however, had residues higher than the MRLs in more than 10% of samples. If the findings are compared only with MRLs according to Regulation (EC) No. 396/2005, sample portions non-compliant with MRLs would be reduced, for instance to less than 10% in rice.

Foods where samples stemmed from both domestic and foreign products displayed different compliance levels: while only 1.5% of samples from German products and 1.8% of samples from EU products did not comply with permitted maximum residue levels, the non-compliance level in samples from third countries was 17.9%.

The high level of non-compliance in pears was mainly attributable to high residues of amitraz, in particular in pears from Turkey. The respective product lots were removed from the market and destroyed. The amitraz findings in pears were such that the acute reference dose was sometimes considerably exceeded. All other residues found in the vegetal food products inspected did not exceed their specific reference doses and therefore did not mean an acute health risk to consumers.

Nine per cent of samples (=52 cases) of food products of German origin gave rise to suspecting unauthorised use of plant protection products. If a residue indicates that there might have been illegal use of a plant protection product, and if the sample can be traced back to the user of that product, the food control authority informs the crop protection authority, which is competent for controlling the use of plant protection products. It is their competence to find out whether crop protection regulations were actually violated, and to legally pursue the case. Food and crop protection control authorities are cooperating closely in this field on state level.

Passion fruit examined in the framework of project monitoring generally contained relatively low levels of plant protection product residues. Still, about a third of the samples contained residues above the – very low – MRLs. Most of the residues found were less than 50% the respective MRL. Only few of the substances were frequently found. Toxicological evaluation of the findings did not state any health risks.

Residues of pharmacologically active substances

Analyses of salmon and shrimps for residue of pharmacologically active substances produced a very satisfactory overall picture in 2008. In chicken and turkey, there were some residue findings, but most of these were residues of feed additives authorised for the respective species, and residues were within permitted levels. Only in one case in chicken, the permitted level was exceeded. The analytic results in chicken and turkey support the findings of the National Residue Control Programme saying that poultry is carrying veterinary drug residues only in very few cases above permitted levels.

Persistent organo-chlorine compounds

The analytic findings of the 2008 market basket monitoring confirmed again long-standing findings of contamination of foodstuffs of animal origin with the most investigated PCBs (PCB 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180). However, none of the concentrations found were above established maximum levels. Sample portions containing PCBs and PCB levels in those samples have remained of the same range or declined moderately, compared with earlier analyses in the same or similar foodstuffs. This trend is reflected by fewer findings in halibut and declining levels found in halibut and salmon.

Dioxin and PCB levels were measured in the framework of a monitoring project in various foodstuffs on the German market, namely cow milk, chicken and quails’ eggs, beef, aqua-cultured carp and fish from natural fishing grounds. The findings were that these foodstuffs largely carry only low levels of these environmental contaminants. However, the results only roughly indicate a trend or outline a situation of contamination, as samples were too few for an actual statistical assessment.

2,4,6-tribromanisol

2,4,6-tribromanisol (TBA) was found in nearly every salmon sample, with concentrations of up to 55 µg/kg. Three quarters of samples of smoked trout also had TBA findings, but at

considerably lower concentrations of up to 1.2 µg/kg. One finding at similar level occurred in prawns. There were no findings in other food of animal origin.

Mycotoxins

Aflatoxins and other mycotoxins

Aflatoxin B1 was found in 7% of the rice samples, which is a problem given the strong toxicity and carcinogenic effect of that substance. Most of the other mycotoxins looked for were, fortunately, not found, with the exception of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenon (ZEA) in some samples. In consequence, rice should continue to be analysed for the mycotoxins aflatoxin B1, DON and ZEA. A very encouraging result of analyses was that none of the yogurt samples was found to contain aflatoxin M1.

Patulin

Contamination of apple juice was comparatively low in 2008. Contamination did not reach 50% of the established maximum level in any of the samples analysed.

Ochratoxin A (OTA)

Ochratoxin A was found in liquorice in 45% of samples and in quality chocolate in 60% of samples. Both the frequency and the levels of findings should be reason to continue tests, in particular as liquorice is sometimes consumed by children in great amounts, and chocolate with high cocoa contents is currently very popular.

Fumonisins

Nearly half of all tested foods on a maize basis intended for gluten-free nutrition were found contaminated with fumonisins, though actual levels were low and only very few samples contained levels above half the permitted maximum level or even exceeding it. Still, testing foodstuffs for fumonisins should continue, because fungal growth and production of mycotoxins depend on the weather and may therefore vary highly with the years. If one succeeds in continuously proving low levels of fumonisins in foodstuffs, this might also be a step towards re-defining legal maximum levels.

Ergot alkaloids

Twelve of 30 known ergot alkaloids were analysed in a large portion of samples of type 815 and type 1150 rye flour and of rye coarse meal. With few exceptions, the sums of ergot alkaloids (total ergot alkaloid content) were generally below the orientation mark of 1000 µg/kg.

Nitrate

Average nitrate levels in carrots showed a further decline, which confirmed the trend of previous years. Average nitrate levels in potatoes, in contrast, were slightly higher than in previous monitoring programmes. The trend in fresh spinach was satisfactory, as the portion of samples not complying with the maximum permissible level continued to decline.

Nitrite

Analyses of scalding sausages showed an average nitrite level of 16 mg/kg, and an actual maximum level of 53 mg/kg. In addition to that, nitrite was also quantified in all samples of scalding sausage. Happily, none of the spinach samples contained nitrite.

Elements

Lead

Analyses of the foodstuffs selected from fish, vegetables, fruit, and chocolate in 2008 essentially corroborated findings of earlier monitoring tests of these products, while meat and shrimps/prawns were found to hold lower lead concentrations than before. Lead concentrations in yogurt, berries, liquorice, and herbal infusions were not conspicuous compared to other foodstuffs.

Cadmium

The food monitoring tests of 2008 confirmed earlier findings about cadmium levels in most foodstuffs and added some information concerning new food groups. Spinach was an exception, with increased contamination levels, including 13 samples (12.4%) not complying with the established maximum level. The findings should be reason to continue testing for monitoring purposes. This also holds for the sometimes high cadmium levels measured in quality chocolates.

With a median of 0.07 mg/kg, medium cadmium concentrations in cocoa mass were only half those in cocoa powder (median 0.14 mg/kg). A consideration of the single data of the 79 cocoa powder samples still shows that 13% of the samples carried concentrations higher than 0.4 mg/kg. In cocoa mass, 12% of the 43 samples had concentrations higher than 0.25 mg/kg. It seems necessary to regulate maximum levels on the national scale or extend EU regulations under Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 to protect in particular children from health risks from high cadmium levels in cocoa and cocoa products.

Tests in various kinds of nuts, oil seed, and oil fruit showed cadmium concentrations under 0.35 mg/kg in 90% of samples. The present data did not allow deriving any trends indicating increased cadmium contamination in products originating from certain countries or growing regions.

Mercury

Mercury was not found at all in onions, and rarely in yogurt, chicken, turkey, potatoes, carrots and liquorice. In contrast, it was found in half of all rice samples. Ninety per cent of these findings were below 0.03 mg/kg. Legal maximum levels were exceeded only once in turkey and twice in carrot samples, but also in 14 rice samples (=16%). These findings are most likely attributable to environmental contamination.

As in earlier monitoring tests, nearly all samples of fish and shrimps/prawns contained mercury. Actual contents did not vary greatly from earlier findings, but showed a declining tendency in common shrimps from the North Sea and prawns. There was one non-compliant sample in halibut.

Copper

The findings of the 2008 monitoring are quite similar to other copper data raised in earlier studies, as regards frequency of findings and concentrations. Only two samples of chicken meat (1%) and one samples of turkey meat (0.5%) did not comply with the maximum level. On the other hand, concentrations in a number of other samples still reached more than 90% of the allowed maximum level.

Aluminium

Aluminium may be present in foodstuffs both as a result of environmental contamination and use of aluminium-containing additives. Aluminium was found in all foodstuffs analysed for it, and in sample portions ranging from 72% to 100%. Concentrations varied considerably. They were lowest in yogurt, infusion of peppermint leaves, and in most kinds of fruit and vegetables, with the exception of spinach. The latter carried a relatively high level of aluminium, as did liquorice, chocolate, and infusion of Rooibos tea.

Cocoa is a vegetal food product which naturally contains higher levels of aluminium. These lay around a median of 113 mg/kg, with less than 8% of samples showing concentrations of more than 200 mg/kg. Cocoa mass has a higher portion of shea butter, which brings aluminium concentrations down around a median of 77 mg/kg.

When analysing panned sweets and coloured decoration of cakes and biscuits for aluminium, it was found that aluminium rather stemmed from environmental sources than from aluminium containing additives. Yet three of the decoration products were conspicuous with extremely high aluminium contents. But the matrix of analysed products was too heterogenic to try an estimate of possible health risks through aluminium-containing additives.

Antimony

Antimony was first considered in the food monitoring programme of 2008, and only looked for in apple juice. Though it was found in more than four fifths of the samples, the levels were very low in the microgram range.

Arsenic

Analyses in quite a number of foodstuffs for total contents of arsenic mostly confirmed the data obtained in earlier monitoring surveys, in particular relatively high concentrations in fish. Only findings in pears were different, being much lower than before. The frequency of findings in other foodstuffs which were analysed for arsenic for the first time in the framework of food monitoring ranged from 2% of samples in berry fruit up to 100% in shrimps and prawns. Concentrations were relatively high in smoked halibut and in common shrimp from the North Sea. The median value in prawns was only about one tenth of the median in common shrimp from the North Sea.

Chrome

Yogurt, scalding sausage, shrimps and prawns, spinach, liquorice, and chocolate were analysed for chrome for the first time under the food monitoring programme in 2008. Chrome was found in these products in sample portions ranging from 25% to 95%. Least frequent findings were in foodstuffs of animal origin.

Manganese

Manganese was found in about half of the samples of peppermint leaves infusion and all samples of Rooibos tea. While 90% of the concentrations found in peppermint leaves infusion were in the range up to 3.6 mg/kg, concentrations in infusions of Rooibos tea were up to ten times higher.

Nickel

Nickel was found with relatively high concentrations of up to 7.5 mg/kg in chocolate, which was attributed to naturally high contents in cocoa. The findings of 2008 are fitting very well with those of the year 2006. Sample portions containing nickel ranged from 11% to 69% in yogurt, scalding sausage, shrimps and prawns, spinach and liquorice, and 90% of the concentrations found were in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 mg/kg.

Selenium

Most foodstuffs of this monitoring programme had been analysed for selenium before. Analytic findings of the year 2008 confirmed earlier data. Selenium findings in yogurt, shrimps and prawns, onions, berry fruit, peppermint leaves infusion, and Rooibos tea – all analysed for the first time in 2008 – were in line with earlier findings in comparable foodstuffs. Selenium concentrations in rice, chicken, turkey, fish, and yogurt were in the range of natural contents.

Thallium

Thallium findings in spinach and carrots corresponded to those of the 2005 monitoring tests. Onions and currants had only few findings, and all in the same range of concentrations. No finding was higher than 0.02 mg/kg. It was not found in measurable quantity in gooseberries.

Zinc

Test results in both animal-derived and vegetal foodstuffs corroborated findings of earlier monitoring tests for zinc in foodstuffs. The findings in foodstuffs which were tested for the first time in 2008 are in line with foodstuffs of similar kind tested earlier.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)

Benzo(a)pyrene levels in smoked fish were roughly the same as in 2005. Given the fact that the maximum permitted level in trout fillet was nearly reached or even exceeded in quite a share of samples, benzo(a)pyrene in trout should be further monitored. Thistle and extra virgin olive oil were not conspicuous, as regards benzo(a)pyrene. Levels in quality chocolate, in contrast, were sometimes high and should continue to be monitored.

3-MCPD

3-MCPD is formed in fish as a toxic reaction product of the heating process during smoking. This is reflected also by the results of the monitoring analyses of smoked trout and halibut. One third of samples of smoked trout, and 83% of samples of smoked halibut held 3-MCPD up to a level of 0.11 mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg, respectively.

Furan

Furan is also a toxic reaction product which occurs in many foodstuffs and has been classified by the WHO as potentially carcinogenic in humans. Tests in the framework of this monitoring scheme also backed the knowledge that coffee is a main source of contamination in average human adults. Apple juice contains only very low concentrations of furan, while ready-to-eat dishes may contain up to 107 µg/kg. The level here depends on the way of preparation and condition in which it is offered for consumption.

A final toxicological evaluation of furan is not possible at present because of incomplete and partly inconsistent data concerning carcinogenic action. Under the angle of preventive health protection of consumers, it seems necessary to minimise furan contents in foodstuffs until a reference level is established.

Hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF)

HMF levels varied greatly in the food groups tested – dried plums, plum jam, and beverages from dried plums. The tests show that it is in fact possible to produce these foods in a way that they contain relatively low concentrations of HMF.

Musk compounds

Synthetic musk aromas indicate input from private and municipal waste water, and pollution of water, if they are found in fish from aquaculture. They were found in foods of animal origin only. Nitro musk compounds, which used to be applied a lot, were sometimes found in measurable quantities in chicken, turkey, scalding sausage, salmon, smoked trout, and prawns in this monitoring scheme, while they remained under the limit of quantification in yogurt, smoked halibut and common shrimps. As a whole, both the frequency of findings and actual levels continued to decrease, compared with earlier studies. The example of trout and salmon shows, however, that HHCB and AHTN as the major representatives of polycyclic musk compounds have entered the food chain to a considerable extent and are now present in more than three quarters of salmon samples, as a result of a process in which nitro musk compounds are being replaced by polycyclic musk compounds.