Frustrated with EtO contamination?
EtO contamination, what is the situation?
What is Ethylene Oxide (EtO)?
EtO?is?used?in?some?countries,?such?as Canada, the USA, and?India?as a?fungicide,?bactericide, and insecticide for?foods.?In the EU,?it?has been?banned?from?such?use in 1991.
EtO?is a?basic chemical building block?used in a wide variety of applications, spanning from detergents to solvents, lubricants, paints, personal care ingredients, crop protection, etc. It is typically a precursor to ethylene glycol production, and can also be used directly as a sterilizing agent in specific applications, especially when steam wants to be avoided. It is also used occasionally as a fumigating agent.?
EtO?is extremely explosive and flammable. Therefore, it must be handled under strict control, and usually large chemical companies are the only ones capable of handling this product.?
On the 9th of?September?2020,?Belgium?registered?a high?level?of?EtO?in?sesame?seeds from?India. This?level?was?30.1 mg/kg and?exceeded?European?MRL for?sesame?of 0.05 mg/kg
Since?September?9th, 2020, the world has?seen?close to 3000?product?recalls?and notifications due to the?presence?of?ethylene?oxide in?food?in the EU. The first major cases?concerned?the?sesame?and?tea?supply?chain?(from?India?and China) but?rapidly,?many more?products?were?affected.
Regulation?(EC) No 396/2005?applies?to all?food?and?feed?and?defines?ethylene?oxide (ethylene?oxide and 2-chloroethanol) maximum?residue?levels?(MRLs)?above?which?the?product?(food?ingredients,?food?additives,?food?supplements?capsules,?feed…) are?considered?not?safe?for consumption.
In July 2021, it has been decided that all foodstuffs with a proven presence of ethylene oxide will be withdrawn from the market. Every batch delivered since 13 July 2021 has to be analyzed by an accredited laboratory.?
How to minimize EtO contamination risk?
BKD has developed an in-depth risk assessment of possible EtO traces in its products across the entire production process. Thanks to our full control of the supply chain and improved measures, we are in a position to mitigate risks to the lowest levels and avoid any sort of supply chain disruption. Contact us @ [email protected] for more details.