FAO/WHO: Call for Data on Total Aflatoxins in Ready-to-Eat Peanuts
On August 1, 2024, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) issued a request for data on total aflatoxins in ready-to-eat peanuts. This announcement comes after the 17th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF17), held in Panama in April 2024, during which the CCCF agreed to request that JECFA issue a call for such data.
Specifically, JECFA calls for:
- Data on occurrence of total aflatoxins for the last 10 years.
- Data collected with methods with a LOQ of 4 µg/kg or below.
- Data on ready-to-eat peanuts, for which it can reasonably be assumed that at least 90% or more of the food item consists of peanut, and no more than 10% is flavour, condiment or coating.
The deadline to submit data is October 31, 2024.
EU: New MLs for Nickel in Nuts
On July 31, 2024, the Official Journal of the European Union published a Commission Regulation establishing new maximum levels (MLs) for nickel in certain foodstuffs, including 10 mg/kg in Brazil nuts, cashews, pine nuts and walnuts, 3.5 mg/kg in other tree nuts, and 12 mg/kg in peanuts. The new rules shall apply from July 1, 2025.
In the case of tree nuts, the ML applies to the edible part of the nut. It does not apply to tree nuts for crushing and oil refining, provided that the remaining pressed tree nuts are not placed on the market as food.
EU: Plant Protection Products Update
The European Union has notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of the following draft changes in maximum residue levels (MRLs):
| Substance | Commodity | Draft MRL (mg/kg) |
| Acetamiprid(1) | Apricots | 0.08 |
| Acetamiprid(1) | Grapes | 0.08 |
| Acetamiprid(1) | Cranberries | 0.7 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Almonds | 0.1 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Brazil nuts | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Cashews | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Hazelnuts | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Macadamias | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Pecans | 0.1 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Pine nuts | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Pistachios | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Walnuts | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Other tree nuts | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Apricots | 0.5 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Plums | 0.9 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Cranberries | 5 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Dates | 0.01 |
| Dithiocarbamates(2) | Figs | 0.1 |
(1) Proposed date of adoption: February 1, 2025. More information
(2) Proposed date of adoption: January 24, 2025. More information
The EU also notified the WTO of a draft Commission Implementing Regulation concerning the non-renewal of metribuzin. The proposed date of adoption is the fourth quarter of 2024.
Additionally, the EU has published an initiative that aims to list additional substances as unacceptable co-formulants in Annex III to Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 on the sale, use and control of plant protection products in the EU, according to criteria established in Regulation (EU) 2023/574 for identifying unacceptable co-formulants in plant protection products.
USA: Plant Protection Products Update
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an order terminating certain pesticide uses, including the following uses in nuts and dried fruits:
| Registration no. | Product name | Company | Terminated uses |
| 84229-20 | Chlorpyrifos 4 EC | Tide International | Food uses: prunes, almonds, filberts (hazelnuts), pecans, walnuts |