The instrument
This page records the heavy-metal maximum levels set by Costa Rica RTCR 409:2008 - fishery and aquaculture contaminants, the instrument of SENASA / Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia, 2008. 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. 15 maximum levels across 4 analytes and 12 product categories, grouped by analyte and ordered by limit.
| Limit µg/kg | Basis | Product scope | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead (Pb)5 limits | |||
| 200 | product as placed on market | tuna and bonito | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.3 lead row 3 |
| 300 | product as placed on market | fish in general, except tuna and bonito | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.3 lead row 2 |
| 500 | product as placed on market | crustaceans | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.3 lead row 1 |
| 1000 | product as placed on market | cephalopods without viscera | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.3 lead row 5 |
| 1500 | product as placed on market | bivalve molluscs | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.3 lead row 4 |
| Cadmium (Cd)6 limits | |||
| 50 | product as placed on market | fish in general, except sardine, eel, and swordfish | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.2 cadmium row 2 |
| 100 | product as placed on market | sardine and eel | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.2 cadmium row 3 |
| 300 | product as placed on market | swordfish | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.2 cadmium row 6 |
| 500 | product as placed on market | crustaceans | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.2 cadmium row 1 |
| 1000 | product as placed on market | bivalve molluscs | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.2 cadmium row 4 |
| 1000 | product as placed on market | cephalopods without viscera | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.2 cadmium row 5 |
| Mercury, total (tHg)3 limits | |||
| 500 | product as placed on market | crustaceans, cephalopods without viscera, and bivalve molluscs | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.1 mercury row 1 |
| 500 | product as placed on market | fish in general, except tuna, bonito, eel, marlin, ray, sharks, and swordfish | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.1 mercury row 2 |
| 1000 | product as placed on market | tuna, bonito, eel, marlin, ray, sharks, and swordfish | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.1 mercury row 3 |
| Tin (Sn)1 limit | |||
| 200000 | product as placed on market | canned fishery products | RTCR 409:2008 section 3.4 tin row for canned fishery products |
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.