Background
The 14th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF14) agreed:
- to re-establish the EWG chaired by Ecuador, and co-chaired by Ghana, working in English and Spanish to:
- continue working on the ML for cocoa powder containing or declaring 100% total cocoa solids on a dry matter basis ready for consumption taking into consideration submitted written comments and comments made at this session; and to present the analysis in more detail at the next session and
- collaborate closely with the EWG on data analysis (see Agenda Item 17).
- to request JECFA to issue a call for data specific to cocoa powder containing or declaring 100% total cocoa solids ready for consumption.
Request for data
We are requesting submission of new data on cadmium from all food sources, particularly chocolates and cocoa products, covering approximately the last 10 years. In particular:
- cocoa powder containing or declaring 100% total cocoa solids ready for consumption
We are requesting submission of new data covering approximately the last 10 years. Data should be submitted as indicated below, to allow time for data analysis and drafting of the paper by the EWG. The call for data can also be viewed online at https://www.who.int/teams/nutrition-and-food-safety or https://www.fao.org/food-safety/scientific-advice/calls-for-data-and-experts-expert-rosters.
Date for submission
The submission of data is requested before
15 February 2022
This deadline applies to all data to be submitted.
WHO will be compiling data for the EWG. All new data must be submitted to WHO through the GEMS database, which is easily accessible here: https://www.who.int/teams/nutrition-and-food-safety/databases/global-environment-monitoring-system-food-contamination. On that web page, please read the “Instructions for electronic submission of data on chemical contaminants in food and the diet” before attempting to submit data to GEMS. To submit data, you will need an account, and instructions on creating an account are found on page 2 of the Instructions manual. For technical questions about submitting data to GEMS, please contact WHO (gems_food@who.int).
Note that data already submitted to the GEMS Food Database do not need to be re-submitted.
When submitting data to the GEMS/Food database for this work, please provide:
- Complete information on the LOQ and LOD of analytical methods;
- Complete information for identification of the samples (serial number);
- Information for country of origin (for imported food);
- Information in the “Local Food Identifier” or “Notes” fields of the database to allow more specific identification of samples, e.g., Is a food fresh or processed (e.g. fermented, dried/dehydrated, chips, boiled, flour, etc.);
- Information on “State of Food Analysed” e.g., cooked or raw.