Food News

With EU Regulation 2020/1158 of 05.08.2020, the EU Commission published new import conditions for food and animal feed originating in third countries on 06.08.2020.

After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986, considerable quantities of radioactive elements were released into the atmosphere. In order to protect the European population, maximum levels of radioactivity in certain agricultural products from third countries were subsequently set. These have now been updated in the new regulation. In the future there will only be maximum levels for Cs137. With the exception of milk, milk products and foods for infants and young children (370 Bq/kg), the maximum level is set at 600 Bq/kg. This concerns mainly wild mushrooms and berries collected from the wild.

Bulgaria and Romania are removed from the "list of third countries affected by the Chernobyl accident" as new EU members, as are Liechtenstein and Norway. However, the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland), which is expected to become a third country on 1 January 2021 due to the brexite, has been included.

AGROLAB LUFA in Kiel is one of the few private laboratories that can carry out radioactivity measurements. As a former state measuring station in Schleswig-Holstein and still involved in the official European-wide radioactivity monitoring, we have decades of experience and the most modern measuring technology to test commercial samples for radioactive contamination quickly and economically.

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger