China Sought Input on Selenium in 2003

VANCOUVER - Aug 17/06 - SNS -- The fact the North American pulse industry was caught off guard by China's imposition of maximum tolerances for selenium in field pea shipments to that country is surprising.

In October of 2003 China informed the World Trade Organization of new tolerances it was setting for a wide range of contaminants in foods, asking for comments from trade partners. The U.S. agricultural attache for China confirms that the U.S. government responded, but it is unknown whether the Canadian government commented.

The fact the Canadian Special Crops Association, Pulse Canada, and the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council appear to have been caught off guard raises the question as to whether they were contacted by their governments about the standards. And if so, what effort they made to make their members aware of the pending tolerances.

China's request for comments from other countries culminated in the January 25, 2005 publication of a national standard on Maximum Levels of Contaminants in Foods. The standard combines and replaces 13 hygienic standards for chemical contaminants. Most standard requirements for these contaminants were adjusted to comply with Codex Alimentarius Committee standards except where a Codex standard was absent.

The standard was to take effect as of October 1, 2005 with a grace period of one year. "In other words, foods produced before October 1, 2005 that comply with relevant standards are allowed to be sold until September 30, 2006," the U.S. agricultural attache said.

"Because some of China's maximum residue limits (MRL) are not addressed in Codex guidelines and are lower than U.S. standards (where they exist) or levels considered safe for U.S. food produced for domestic consumption, these MRL's may affect U.S. exports. The MRLs for arsenic and nitrite may be of concern to the U.S. meat industry and selenium may be of concern for the some grains," the agricultural attache said.

Subscribers can read the full text of the article by Clicking here