Brussels. As part of the European plan to fight cancer, new limits on certain heavy metals in various diets will come into effect this week. For baby food, spices, wines and salt, for example, a strict or extra maximum amount of lead is applicable from Monday. From Tuesday, there will be new cadmium limit values ​​for many fruits, vegetables, grains and oilseeds.

Commenting on the new rules of the German Press Agency, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said: “As part of the European Plan Against Cancer, we are committed to further reducing the content of cancer components.

The background to the new limit values ​​for heavy metal lead is based on the findings that there is no limit to what is harmful to human health. In addition, the European Food Safety Authority recently expressed concern that diets could affect neurological development in embryos, infants, and children.

Cereal products and vegetables are affected

In the past, relatively high levels of lead were found in algae, fish, seafood, and dietary supplements. According to the Federal Ministry of the Environment, other foods such as cereals or vegetables, which have a relatively low lead content, can contribute significantly to lead consumption because they are widely used. For example, a maximum content of 1.0 mg per kilogram applies to most salts. For wines, it will be reduced from 0.15 to 0.10 milligrams per kilogram from the 2022 harvest.

The background to the new limit values ​​of cadmium is the data collected on what happened after the implementation of the recommended risk reduction measures in 2014. These show that cadmium content can be reduced in many foods, according to the responsible European Commission.

Heavy metal enters the environment, especially through combustion processes or as a component of wastewater. It can also be introduced into the soil through phosphate fertilization. Like lead, cadmium is toxic and carcinogenic.

Part of the EU Plan: Prevention and More Cancer Centers

The European Plan for the Battle of Cancer was introduced in February and introduced a number of measures in addition to the new limit values. For example, it includes an EU cancer screening program and a network of EU-wide cancer centers. By 2020, 2.7 million people in the European Union will be diagnosed with cancer. 1.3 million people have died from the disease, including more than 2,000 young people, ”explains the European Commission Commission on the നാല് 4 billion plan. If you do not act decisively, by 2035 there will be about 24 percent more cancer cases. (dpa)