Tin level in canned foods - U.K. minister's concern.

TIN LEVEL IN CANNED FOODS--U.K. MINISTER'S CONCERN

The British government's Food Advisory Committee (the FAC)--"an independent body of experts which advises Ministers on matters referred to it relating to the composition, labelling and advertising of food..."--has recommended the provision of a statutory limit of 200mg/kg for the amount of tin to be permitted in canned food According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), surveillance has shown that although only some two per cent of canned food samples contained levels of tin above 200mg/kg, there appears to have been no significant change in the proportion of samples containing excess levels over a period of nearly 10 years. The FAC considers that the introduction of a statutory limit is needed to ensure a reduction in the proportion of cans with cans with contents above the 200mg/kg at the point of sale. At the moment, levels of tin in canned foods are controlled in the U.K. by general provisions of the Food Act 1984, rather than by statutory limit.

As long ago as 1983, the predecessor of the FAC--the Food Additives and Contaminants Committee (FACC)--recommended that the guidelines limit for tin in canned food should be reduced to 200mg/kg from the level of 250mg/kg set in 1952. The recommendation was in part based on the view of the Committee on Toxicity (COT) concerning the threshold for tin-induced gastric irritation.

Following representations from manufacturers, the FAC was asked to review the FACC advice and re-affirmed the view that a guideline limit of 200mg/kg in canned food at retail point of sale should be set to have the practical effect of reducing the likelihood of any canned food having a tin content of 250mg/kg when consumed. As MAFF is ...