SAFEGUARDS SGS CONSUMER TESTING SERVICES

FOOD NO. 187/12 NOV 2012

BENZOPYRENE CONTAMINATION IN KOREAN INSTANT NOODLE

On 25 Oct 2012, Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) recalled six instant noodle products from the nation’s largest ramen maker in South Korea because these products were found to be tainted with benzo(a) , which is a known carcinogen.1 Several countries, including Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and China, have been alerted to this and as a precaution, have removed these products from their shelves.

Benzo(a)pyrene belongs to the group of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Most PAHs derive from incomplete burning of containing materials such as petroleum fuels, wood, and garbage. The occurrence of PAHs in foods is mainly caused by environmental contamination (water, air and soil), food processing (direct drying and heating), and packaging materials. PAHs have been found in different food products, such as dairy products, vegetables, fruits, oil, coffee, tea, cereals, smoked meat, seafood products, ingredients for food formulation, seasoning, and instant noodles. announcement of the test results and the recall order because the levels of In June, the KFDA conducted tests on benzopyrene found in the noodle products in June were minuscule and not harmful, 30 instant noodle products sold in the South Korean agency reported. However, the KFDA issued the recall order after South Korea and found that six its commissioner Lee Hee-sung was pressed on the matter during a legislative products contained benzopyrene, with question-and-answer, the report indicated.2 one product containing the highest level of 4.7 parts per billion (µg/kg). The 11http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/724.pdf 2 cancer-causing substance was found in http://foodsafety.suencs.com/archives/24421 3 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:215:0004:0008:EN:PDF the powdered seasonings in the noodle 4 http://www.ecns.cn/2012/10-30/32793.shtml products. The KFDA said it had delayed 5 http://www.fda.gov.ph/Advisory/DOH-FDAADVISORY2012011.pdf FOOD NO. 187/12 NOV 2012 P.2

To protect the health of consumers in the European Union, the Commission establish in regulation (EC) No. 835/2011, the maximum levels of PAHs in food stuffs. This regulation established a standard for benzo(a)pyrene and the sum of four main PAH compounds: benzo(a)pyrene, benz(a), benzo(b), and . Instant noodles and seasoning are classified as smoked food. Therefore, the maximum levels of benzo(a)pyrene has been established at 5 µg/kg.3 Many countries in Asia like Thailand and South Korea have also set the benzo(a)pyrene limitation at the same level as established in the EU regulation.4 Other countries such as Philippines have a higher limit of 10 µg/kg.5

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