Checks by Estonian food authority in 2024 reveal contaminants in 7 food products

TALLINN - The Estonian Agriculture and Food Board analyzed 284 samples taken from food items last year and found contaminants in seven of them.

Non-compliances were identified in smoked meat products, instant coffee made in India, and peanut butter extract made in China.

The highest number of non-compliances in the contaminant monitoring program were found for substances formed during the production process, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Once again, traditionally smoked meat products proved problematic, with non-compliances found in five out of 34 samples. In all cases where limits were exceeded, production and sales of products smoked in the respective smokehouse were halted until follow-up samples met valid requirements.

An exceedance of the benchmark level for acrylamide was found in instant coffee from India. A benchmark exceedance is not equivalent to exceeding a legal limit, as risk assessment and the establishment of legal limits for acrylamide are still ongoing.

Of the samples collected as part of stepped-up checks at border control points, one revealed an exceedance of the legal limit for the mycotoxin aflatoxin B1. This concerned a batch of peanut butter extract from China. As the batch did not meet European Union requirements, it was not allowed to be imported into the EU and did not reach consumers.

The Agriculture and Food Board conducts annual monitoring of contaminants that may occur in food. Depending on the stage or manner in which contamination may occur, food contaminants are divided into four categories: environmental contaminants, naturally occurring toxic compounds, contaminants formed during food processing, and contaminants formed during food production. Contaminants affect food quality and may have harmful effects on human health.