Maximum levels for dioxins in fish

Tuesday 23 August 2005

At the Board meeting on 14 July, a Board member requested more information on derogation for the Baltic region and how consumers can identify whether fish has been imprted from the Baltic. This paper responds to that request.

1. Maximum levels for dioxins in fish and fishery products have applied across the European Union since July 2002. However, Sweden and Finland were granted a derogation from the legislation until 31 December 2006 for fish caught in the Baltic. The derogation allows them to place fish on the market that originate from the Baltic region and have dioxin levels higher than those permitted in the legislation, only if the fish are intended for consumption in their own territory. Any other fish from the Baltic will be subject to the limits on dioxin levels. The derogation requires that consumers must be fully informed of the dietary restrictions on consumption of fish from the Baltic for vulnerable groups of the population such as pregnant and breastfeeding women in order to avoid potential health risks. In addition, Sweden and Finland must also monitor the levels of dioxins found in fish from the Baltic, and report the results and the measures taken to reduce human exposure from fish from this region to the Commission by 31 December each year. Dioxins accumulate in the body fat of animals and fish and consequently of particular concern are oily fish such as herring and salmon.

2. The Commission is currently carrying out a review of the legislation and the application of the derogation. There is a provision for it to be extended to Estonia and these three Member States have signalled that they would prefer a derogation that covered certain fish species, notably Baltic Salmon, Baltic Sea Herring and River Lamprey, rather than a general one. Latvia, Poland and Lithuania have also asked for the derogation. In the UK, local authorities and port health authorities are responsible for enforcing the European Commission limits.

3. Information on fish imported into the UK specifically from the Baltic region is not held centrally. However, statistics on the import of demersal and pelagic fish in 2002-2003 (DEFRA Fisheries statistics) indicates that no fish were imported from Finland during this period. Imports from Sweden were: 193 tonnes (t) of salmon or trout in 2002, and 29t of herring and 212t of salmon or trout in 2003. As these fish enter the UK under intra-Community trade agreements, no checks are carried out at ports of entry and so establishing where these fish were caught can be difficult; the fish will be labelled as 'product of the EC' in accordance with current food labelling legislation. These fish should not have come from the Baltic under the terms of the current regulation.

4. Latest FSA data show that no salmon or herring samples obtained in the UK exceed the current limit for dioxins. One herring sample had a dioxin and dioxin-like PCB content above the proposed new limit.