EFSA has confirmed the conclusion of its previous assessments that dietary exposure to dioxins and dioxin like PCBs – environmental pollutants present at low levels in food and feed – is a health concern. Data from European countries indicate an exceedance of EFSA’s new tolerable intake level across all age groups.
EFSA’s expert Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) has completed the Authority’s first comprehensive review of the risks to human and animal health from these substances in food and feed.
They have set a new tolerable weekly intake [TWI] for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in food of 2 picograms* per kilogram of body weight. It is seven-times lower than the previous EU tolerable intake set by the European Commission’s former Scientific Committee on Food in 2001.
*A picogram is one trillionth (or 10−12) of a gram.