At the moment, with the exception of the rule 315/93 – article 2.1 which foresees that « maximal contents must be fixed for contaminants in foods to protect consumer's health », it does not still exist at the European level specific rule established for mycotoxins associated to the head blight (DON, NIV, T2-HT2 and ZEA). As not enough information is available to establish objective levels of tolerance, based on rigorous scientific studies, it is very often economic or political considerations, even the limits of detection of used methods for dosages that are used as base for the establishment of recommended maximal limits.
Each country arranges its own recommendations.
These are established according to the destination of cereal production
(animal feed/human food), but also, as regards the human food, according
to the type of product (raw material or finished product). The table below
gives an outline of recommendations established by some countries for the
DON in human food.
Maximal DON contents authorized in products intended for the human food in some countries (Dec, 2002) - FA0 (Pharmacopoeia(Codex) Alimentarius) – European Union.
To facilitate the business between member states, but also to avoid any dispute in the application of the rule 315/93, the European Commission adopted the recommendations established by Netherlands for cereal productions used for human food.
As regards animal food, Belgium recommends a threshold of 5 mg/kg of DON in cereal (Codex Alimentarius – January, 2002 CX / FAC 02/29 – « Discussion paper on deoxynivalenol »).
