A bulletin for the Australian Food Industry September 2001
Contents: Chloropropanols in food | Irradiation of herbs, spices and certain nuts in Australia | Surface decontamination of melons | Antibiotic use in food producing animals | 75 years of CSIRO Research
Chloropropanols in food
In Food Safety & Hygiene February 2001, we discussed briefly concerns in the UK and other European countries over the level of chloropropanols found in surveys of acid hydrolysed vegetable protein (acid HVP) and some soy sauces and related products. The chloropropanols of most concern are 3-monochloropropane-1, 2-diol (3-MCPD) and 1, 3-dichloro-2-propanol (1, 3-DCP). Both are suspected carcinogens and the UK Government has been working with industry for several years to ensure that they are in foods at the lowest technologically feasible level. In March 2001, the European Commission adopted a regulatory limit of 0.02 mg/kg, based on 40 per cent dry matter content, for 3-MCPD in both soy sauce and hydrolysed vegetable protein to take effect in April 2001.
In June of this year, the British Food Standards Agency (BFSA) released two Food Survey Information Sheets (14/01, 15/01) which contained results of its most recent survey of 3-MCPD and 1, 3-DCP levels respectively in soy sauce and related products.
The survey showed that 22 per cent of 100 samples of sauces contained levels of 3-MCPD above the European limit while 17 per cent of the samples contained measurable levels of 1, 3-DCP. As a result of this survey the BFSA named the brands of products which did not meet the EU standard and advised consumers to avoid those products. Retailers responsible for selling soy sauces identified as containing high levels of 3-MCPD were asked to remove any remaining stock from their shelves.
- the addition of acid HVP,
- acid hydrolysis of some or all of the soya bean / wheat and
- the toasting of the wheat component.
However the British authorities concluded it was not possible to explore any link between method of manufacture and level of chloropropanols without further verifiable information from the producers.
Following the publication of these results, the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) issued a media release on 22 June 2001. In this release, ANZFA signalled its intention to amend the Food Standards Code to set a limit for 3-MPCD in soy sauce of 0.02 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), the same limit set by the European Commission. ANZFA also stated that 'all of the unsafe sauces' (i.e. those identified in the British study) were manufactured using an acid hydrolysis process. Soy sauces manufactured using only a traditional fermentation process did not give rise to the chloropropanols and ANZFA regards these as 'safe'.
At about the same time as this was occurring, the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) was considering results of the latest toxicological investigations which had been carried out on 3-MCPD and 1, 3-DCP. Following these deliberations, JECFA has recommended a provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PTDI) of 3-MCPD of 0.002 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) body weight.
The term PTDI has a meaning quite different from the term acceptable daily intake (ADI) which is used in assessing the safety in use of food additives. The word tolerable is used in those cases where intake of a contaminant is unavoidably associated with the consumption of otherwise wholesome foods. The term provisional expresses the connotation that more complete data are required for full assessment. Future data may lead to a revision of the TDI.
At the same time JECFA concluded that the estimation of a tolerable daily intake for 1, 3-DCP was inappropriate because of the nature of the toxicity of this compound.
The figure of 0.002 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) body weight is the same PTDI arrived at by the European Scientific Committee on Food which advises the European Commission on food safety.
ANZFA has released a draft risk analysis report and a proposal to set a maximum limit for chloropropanols in soy and oyster sauce. ANZFA is now recommending a maximum limit of 0.2 mg/kg for 3-MCPD in soy and oyster sauces and a maximum limit of 0.005 mg/kg for 1,3-DCP based on 40 per cent dry matter. The 0.005 mg/kg figure for 1, 3-DCP is the current limit for analytical detection.
ANZFA has used the available toxicological data (the JECFA recommendations) and its own dietary exposure modelling to arrive at these new recommendations.
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