News
05.04.2023 - Foods
TomatoKetchupCompared - A Critical Review by Öko-Test
In the March 2023 issue of Öko-Test, there was a report on the presence of mold toxins in tomato ketchup. However, Ökotest applies very strict criteria that go beyond legal regulations and may therefore unsettle consumers.
In this issue, special attention was paid to the contents of specific mold toxins – in this case, alternaria toxins – in the tested products. The levels in tomato products vary significantly, which is why manufacturers should pay particular attention to them as part of their quality assurance.
Alternaria toxins are considered potentially harmful to health. However, due to the lack of toxicological data, there are no legal regulations for the assessment of these toxins in food. The EU therefore merely recommends adherence to certain guidelines. The Commission has derived these from scientific studies and issued them as recommendations. The Commission has deliberately not issued a legally binding requirement.
According to Öko-Test's rules, the product is already significantly downgraded if these guideline values are more than 50 percent utilized. In doing so, Öko-Test arbitrarily sets its own limits that "undercut" the Commission's recommendations and thus undermine consumer confidence in legal regulations and official risk assessments.
Furthermore, aspects such as origin and supply chain weigh heavily in Öko-Test's overall assessment. If there is no complete proof of the entire supply chain up to the farmer, or if companies do not provide data on suppliers, or only partially, this led to a significant downgrading of the product.
In our Tentamus laboratories, we regularly conduct tests for mold toxins (mycotoxins). We provide you with fast and reliable results.
Our customer advisors are happy to assist you with any questions.
Sources:
www.kulinaria.org - press releases/20230302-oeko-test-tomato-ketchup
Öko-Test No. 03/2023 - www.oekotest.de
RECOMMENDATION (EU) 2022/553 OF THE COMMISSION of 5 April 2022 on the monitoring of the presence of Alternaria toxins in foods
www.bav-institut.de: What is the relevance of mold in foods