After more than a decade in which mineral oil residues in food have increasingly come under the spotlight of industry, authorities and scientists, the establishment of statutory maximum levels for mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) and the introduction of indicative levels for mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and MOAH are drawing ever closer. The European Commission’s current drafts are in their final phase; according to current plans, the regulations are set to apply from 1 January 2027. The date for the final vote in the Standing Committee (SCoPAFF) has not yet been set. The next meeting dates for the relevant SCoPAFF section to vote are mid-April and mid-June 2026.

The full article is available in DLR 03/26 (in German...

On 9 February 2026, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published an update on the safety assessment of cannabidiol (CBD) as a novel food and defined a provisional safe dose (which many applicants would consider very low) of 0.0275 mg/kg body weight per day. The provisional safe dose set by EFSA is not currently a regulated maximum limit. However, EFSA’s guideline will primarily serve as the basis for assessing the safety of CBD in every ongoing novel food application. It is now up to the more than 30 applicants whose applications are currently being assessed by EFSA to submit further data to substantiate the safety and the desired higher daily doses.

The full article is available in DLR 03/26 (in German only).

As part of its re-evaluation program for already authorised additives, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has completed its assessment of the sweetener sucralose (E 955). (EFSA Journal. 2026; 24:e9854.)

In its opinion, EFSA confirms the current acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 15 mg/kg body weight/day. According to exposure assessments considering the currently authorised uses, the ADI is not exceeded by any population group. Therefore, according to EFSA, there is no safety concern at the currently authorised uses and use levels of sucralose.

On 29 January 2026, the European Union published Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/215 in the Official Journal of amending Annexes II and V of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 as regards maximum residue levels (MRLs) for dimoxystrobin, ethephon and propamocarb in or on certain products.

The European Commission published an update of the ‘Guidance document on Listeria monocytogenes monitoring and shelf-life studies for ready-to-eat foods’ (SANCO/11510/2013, revision of 18 December 2025). The update of the initial document, first published in 2013, is particularly due to the application of legal changes in Regulation (EC) No. 2073/2005 on July 1, 2026 for ready-to-eat (RTE) foods able to support the growth of L. monocytogenes.

In May 2025, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published an updated risk assessment on perchlorate in food [EFSA Journal. 2025;23:e9393.]. Therein, EFSA derives a new tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 1.4 µg/kg body weight (bw)/day for perchlorate. The new TDI is clearly higher than the TDI of 0.3 µg/kg bw derived in 2014. As the TDI is applicable for both short-term (approximately 2-week period) and chronic exposures, according to EFSA an acute reference dose (ARfD) for perchlorate was still deemed not necessary.

The full article is available in DLR 01/26 (in German only).