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ARCHIVED - List of contaminants and other adulterating substances in foods [2020-07-02]

Notice to reader:

This is an archived list. Please refer to the most current version of this list of contaminants and other adulterating substances in foods.

Date Issued: 2020-06-05

The List of contaminants and other adulterating substances in foods is a two-part list setting out the conditions under which certain foods are adulterated. Part 1 of the List sets out prohibitions for certain substances listed in column 1, which stipulate that no amount is considered acceptable in the corresponding food(s) listed in column 2.

List of contaminants and other adulterating substances in foods

Part 1
Item No. Column 1
Substance		 Column 2
Food
1 Mineral oil All foods, except foods requiring the use of mineral oil as part of good manufacturing practiceTable 1 Footnote 1
2 Paraffin wax All foods, except chewing gum with a paraffin wax base
3 Petrolatum All foods
4 Coumarin, an extract of tonka beans, the seed of Dipteryx odorata Willd. or Dipteryx oppositifolia Willd. All foods
5 Fatty acids and their salts containing chick-edema factor or other toxic factors All foods
6 Dihydrosafrole All foods
7 Isosafrole All foods
8 Oil of American sassafras from Sassafras albidum (Nutt). Nees All foods
9 Oil of Brazilian sassafras from Ocotea cymbarum H.B.K. All foods
10 Oil of camphor sassafrassy from Cinnamomum camphorum Sieb. All foods
11 Oil of micranthum from Cinnamomum micranthum Hayata All foods
12 Safrole All foods
13 Oil, extract or root of calamus from Acorus calamus L. All foods
14 Ethylene thiourea All foods, except fruits, vegetables and cerealsTable 1 Footnote 1
15 Chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, except 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin All foods
16 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin All foods, except fishTable 1 Footnote 1
17 Cinnamyl anthranilate All foods
18 Partially hydrogenated oils All foods

Table 1 footnotes

Table 1 footnote 1

See Part 2

Return to table 1 footnote 1 referrer
Part 2
Item No. Column 1
Substance		 Column 2
FoodTable 2 Footnote 1		 Column 3
Maximum level
1.1 Arsenic, total (1) Fish protein (1) 3.5 p.p.m. (parts per million)
(2) Edible bone meal (2) 1 p.p.m.
(3) Beverages; Fruit juice; Fruit nectar (3) 0.1 p.p.m. as consumed
(4) Water in sealed containers (4) 0.01 p.p.m.
1.2 Arsenic, inorganic (sum of arsenite (As III) and arsenate (As V)) (1) Husked (brown) rice (1) 0.35 p.p.m.
(2) Polished (white) rice (2) 0.2 p.p.m.
2 Fluoride (1) Edible bone meal (1) 650 p.p.m.
(2) Fish protein (2) 150 p.p.m.
3 Lead (1) Edible bone meal (1) 10 p.p.m.
(2) Tomato paste; Tomato sauce (2) 1.5 p.p.m.
(3) Fish protein; Whole tomatoes (3) 0.5 p.p.m.
(4) Beverages (4) 0.2 p.p.m. as consumed
(5) Evaporated milk; Condensed milk; Concentrated infant formula (5) 0.15 p.p.m.
(6) Infant formula when ready-to-serve (6) 0.08 p.p.m.
(7) Fruit juice; Fruit nectar (7) 0.05 p.p.m. as consumed
(8) Water in sealed containers (8) 0.01 p.p.m.
4 Tin Canned foods 250 p.p.m.
5 Free gossypol Cottonseed flour 450 p.p.m.
6 Aflatoxin Nut; Nut products 15 p.p.b. (parts per billion) calculated on the basis of the nut meat portion.
7 Ethylene thiourea Fruits; Vegetables; Cereals 0.05 p.p.m.
8 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin Fish 20 p.p.t. (parts per trillion)
9 Mineral oil Food requiring the use of mineral oil as part of good manufacturing practice 0.3%
10 Patulin Apple juice; Unfermented apple cider 50 p.p.b. as consumed
11 Glycoalkaloids, total (sum of alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine) Potato tubers 200 p.p.m.
12 Total extractable cyanide Apricot kernels sold for human consumption 20 p.p.m.

Table 2 Footnotes

Table 2 Footnote 1

Maximum levels also apply to the food when it is used as an ingredient in other foods.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Document Reference Numbers: NOM/ADM C-2020-1; NOM/ADM C-2019-1; NOM/ADM C-2018-1; NOM/ADM C-2018-2; NOM/ADM C-2017-3; NOM/ADM C-2017-2; NOM/ADM C-2017-1

Archived lists of contaminants and other adulterating substances in foods

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