Residues of chlorates and perchlorates in foodstuff have become a key issue for companies operating in the Food Industry, since 2020, when the EU legal limits became officially applicable.
In 2005, maximum levels for pesticide residues in food and feed ingredients of both vegetal and animal origin, were defined by Regulation (ec) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament. In 2017, a multidisciplinary action plan that includes measures on drinking water, hygiene, and the setting of provisional maximum residue levels for food and feed was put in force lowering these levels. In that regulation, a “default” limit of 0.01 ppm was applied but, specific maximum residue levels (MRLs) were not defined. According to the European Food Safety Authority, chlorates may represent a hazard for human health because they may interfere with iodine metabolism and limit oxygen exchange in the blood.
For food processing and drinking water treatment, concerning chlorate, where residues are not caused by the use of pesticides but from the use of chlorine solutions, maximum levels should be set “as low as reasonably achievable,” to comply to good manufacturing practices and ensure good hygiene practices. This results in food business operators applying all available actions to prevent and reduce chlorate levels in food as much as possible, and thus, protect public health.
Sodium Chlorate, or NaClO3, is a salt, widely used in agriculture as a herbicide. This is why, in order to discourage its usage, the European Union has reduced the accepted level in food products.
However, drinking water usually contains a permitted percentage of hypochlorite or chlorine dioxide. Hypochlorite and chlorine dioxide spontaneously generate some quantity of chlorates. Chlorates, identified and studied for more than 50 years, are called DBP, Disinfection By-products, by the World Health Organization and are accepted by the international community as a common by-product.
Thus, any activity subsequent to harvesting, which includes cooking in drinking water, inevitably increases the level of chlorates. This increase is not due to its presence in the raw material, but is a consequence of its presence in drinking water. Therefore Chlorates, are omnipresent in food and continuous exposure to them and to perchlorates is not be ignored regarding the health of population.
All of Naturis’ products undergo a cooking step in drinking water but, thanks an intense research, we have managed to completely eliminate the presence of chlorine in the water, thus, Our products are free of the contaminant and as a consequence healthier.
We can therefore guarantee our customers that all our products, organic or conventional, can be supplied and certified on request as “chlorate free” confirming once more Naturis commitment to the highest level of food safety.