Background
The 17th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF17) agreed to request the JECFA Secretariat issue a call for data on aflatoxins in cereals and cereal-based products, including food for infants and young children.
The cereals and cereal-based products of interest include maize grain; flour, meal, semolina and flakes derived from maize; husked and polished rice; sorghum grain destined for further processing; and cereal-based foods for infants and young children.
The call is targeted to new data collected after the adoption of the MLs (CCCF15).
We are requesting submission of new data on total aflatoxins in the following food commodities:
- Maize grain;
- Flour, meal, semolina and flakes derived from maize;
- Husked and polished rice;
- Sorghum grain destined for further processing; and
- Cereal-based foods for infants and young children
- Data collected with methods with a LOQ of 5 μg/kg or below, is required, given the current MLs in CXS193 for cereal-based foods for infants and young children of up to 5 μg/kg.
Data should be submitted as indicated below, to allow the JECFA Secretariat time for data analysis.
The call for data can also be viewed online at https://www.who.int/teams/nutrition-and-food-safety/standards-and-scientific-advice-on-food-and-nutrition or https://www.fao.org/food-safety/scientific-advice/calls-for-data-and-experts-expert-rosters/en/
Date for submission
The submission of data is requested before
31 October 2024
This deadline applies to all data to be submitted.
WHO will be compiling data for the JECFA Secretariat.
All new data must be uploaded in the GEMS database, which is easily accessible on the web.
To access the GEMS database, go to https://extranet.who.int/gemsfood/
To submit data, you will need an account. Instructions on creating an account are found on the website.
For technical questions about submitting data to GEMS, please contact Dr Luc Ingenbleek at WHO (ingenbleekl@who.int).
Please read the “GEMS/Food Database Manual” before attempting to submit data to GEMS.
When submitting data to the GEMS/Food database for this work, please:
- Provide information to differentiate between maize for food or feed;
- Provide information for country of origin (for imported food);
- Provide 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.);
- Provide information on “State of Food Analysed” e.g., cooked or raw (column S);
- Provide complete information on the LOQ and LOD of analytical methods;
- Complete information for identification of the samples (serial number);
- Indicate first in the field called ‘Remarks/references’ (column W) the following indication: Call-2024-cereals-AFT. In addition, following this indication, the country of origin (if known and the food is imported) should be also indicated in the ‘Remarks/references’ field in order to help assess the geographic representativity of the data.