The instrument
This page records the heavy-metal maximum levels set by Chile Decreto 977 - food and food-contact heavy-metal limits, the instrument of Chile Ministry of Health, 1996. Every value below is transcribed into the Heavy Metal Index register from the primary text and is the value an HMTc standard cites when this jurisdiction binds a certification limit. It is a record of law, not an HMTc threshold.
Maximum levels
All values µg/kg (ppb), in the basis the instrument states. 19 maximum levels across 4 analytes and 18 product categories, grouped by analyte and ordered by limit.
| Limit µg/kg | Basis | Product scope | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inorganic arsenic (iAs)5 limits | |||
| 10 | producto final; source unit mg/L for water | Aguas minerales y aguas envasadas para bebida | Article 160 arsenic table states 0.01 mg/L for mineral and bottled drinking waters |
| 100 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Aceites y grasas comestibles | Article 160 arsenic table |
| 100 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Grasas y mezclas de grasas para untar | Article 160 arsenic table |
| 200 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Arroz pulido | Article 160 arsenic table |
| 500 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Sal comestible | Article 160 arsenic table |
| Total arsenic (tAs)1 limit | |||
| 100000 | metals in contact with food or food raw materials; source unit percent by weight | metales en contacto con los alimentos y sus materias primas | Article 125 states metals in contact with foods or raw materials must not contain more than 0.0… |
| Cadmium (Cd)2 limits | |||
| 10 | producto final; source unit treated as mg/L for water | Agua mineral de mesa | Article 160 cadmium table lists 0.01 for table mineral water |
| 500 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Sal comestible | Article 160 cadmium table. |
| Tin (Sn)11 limits | |||
| 50000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Carne enlatada, jamon curado cocido, espaldilla de cerdo curada cocida, carne picada curada cocida, en otros recipientes | Article 160 tin table. |
| 150000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Jugos concentrados de manzana, uva y grosella negra | Article 160 tin table. |
| 150000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Jugos de manzana, uva y grosella negra | Article 160 tin table. |
| 150000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Nectares de fruta: grosella negra y frutas pequenas | Article 160 tin table. |
| 200000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Carne enlatada, jamon curado cocido, espaldilla de cerdo curada cocida, carne picada curada cocida, en recipientes estanados | Article 160 tin table. |
| 200000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Jugos de frutas y hortalizas, excepto manzana, uva y grosella negra | Article 160 tin table. |
| 250000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Aceitunas de mesa | Article 160 tin table. |
| 250000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Conservas de pescados y mariscos | Article 160 tin table. |
| 250000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Frutas y hortalizas en conserva | Article 160 tin table. |
| 250000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Jugos concentrados de frutas, excepto manzana, uva y grosella negra | Article 160 tin table. |
| 250000 | producto final; source unit mg/kg | Nectares de fruta: damasco, durazno, pera, guayaba y citricos | Article 160 tin table. |
Where HMTc cites it
Cells where this instrument holds the strictest government value in force among credible regulators, and therefore binds a published HMTc limit.
A limit recorded above binds nothing today only because another government holds a stricter value for every published cell. It may still bind later, as other jurisdictions relax or as a new subcategory is published.
How this interacts with HMTc
HMTc certification standards adopt the strictest existing maximum level set by any credible government, applied cell-by-cell. Where this instrument holds the strictest value for a (product, analyte) cell, it binds the HMTc limit and the standard cites this page. This page does not set or justify any HMTc threshold; it records the sovereign requirement the program measures against.
A reference page is a record of law, not an HMTc threshold. It states what a government requires; the standard page states what the program requires, and names which instrument binds each cell.