Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006

The instrument

This page records the heavy-metal maximum levels set by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, the instrument of European Commission, 2023. 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.

Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915, official text

Published by European Commission.

Primary source ↗

Maximum levels

All values µg/kg (ppb), in the basis the instrument states. 109 maximum levels across 7 analytes and 106 product categories, grouped by analyte and ordered by limit.

Limit µg/kg	Basis	Product scope	Provision
Lead (Pb)21 limits
10	product as placed on market	infant formulae, follow-on formulae, and young-child formulae placed on the market as liquid	Annex I section 3.1.24.2.
20	product as placed on market	baby food and processed cereal-based food for infants and young children, except covered infant drinks and formula/medical foods	Annex I section 3.1.26.
20	ready to use	drinks for infants and young children placed on the market and labelled as such, liquid or reconstituted, except formula and food for special medical purposes	Annex I section 3.1.25.1
20	product as placed on market	infant formulae, follow-on formulae, and young-child formulae placed on the market as powder	Annex I section 3.1.24.1
30	wet weight or reconstituted juice	fruit juices, fruit juices from concentrate, concentrated fruit juices, and fruit nectars other than exclusively from berries and other small fruits	Annex I section 3.1.19.2.
50	wet weight or reconstituted juice	fruit juices, fruit juices from concentrate, concentrated fruit juices, and fruit nectars exclusively from berries and other small fruits	Annex I section 3.1.19.1.
100	product as placed on market	fats and oils, including milk fat	Covers olive oil, vegetable/cooking oils, butter/ghee milk-fat fraction.
100	wet weight	root and tuber vegetables	After washing and edible-part separation
300	wet weight	cultivated common, oyster and shiitake fungi	After washing and edible-part separation.
300	wet weight	leaf vegetables	After washing and edible-part separation
300	wet weight	muscle meat of fish, general	Species-specific exceptions exist in Annex I.
600	dried spice	fruit spices	Dried spice botanical category (e.g., paprika, allspice).
800	wet weight	wild fungi	After washing and edible-part separation.
900	dried spice	seed spices	Dried spice botanical category (e.g., cumin, coriander, fennel).
1000	dried spice	bud spices	Dried spice botanical category (e.g., cloves).
1000	dried spice	flower pistil spices	Dried spice botanical category (e.g., saffron).
1000	product as placed on market	salt	General food-grade salt.
1500	wet weight	bivalve molluscs	Pecten maximus: adductor muscle and gonad.
1500	dried spice	root and rhizome spices	Dried spice botanical category (e.g., turmeric, ginger).
2000	dried spice	bark spices	Dried spice botanical category (e.g., cinnamon, cassia).
2000	product as placed on market	unrefined salt (fleur de sel, grey salt, manually harvested)	Higher allowance for traditional unrefined salt.
Inorganic arsenic (iAs)17 limits
10	product as placed on market	infant formulae, follow-on formulae, food for special medical purposes intended for infants and young children, and young-child formulae placed on the market as liquid	Annex I section 3.4.2.2
20	product as placed on market	baby food for infants and young children	Annex I section 3.4.3
20	wet weight or reconstituted juice	fruit juices, concentrated fruit juices as reconstituted, and fruit nectars	Annex I section 3.4.4.
20	product as placed on market	infant formulae, follow-on formulae, food for special medical purposes intended for infants and young children, and young-child formulae placed on the market as powder	Annex I section 3.4.2.1
30	wet weight	non-alcoholic rice-based drinks	Current value in Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 Annex I section 3.4.1.6
50	wet weight	cephalopods	Annex I section 3.4.8
100	wet weight	crabs and crab-like crustaceans (Brachyura and Anomura), prawns, and shrimps	Annex I section 3.4.6.1
100	wet weight	muscle meat of fish, species other than those listed under Annex I 3.4.5.2	Annex I section 3.4.5.1
100	rice commodity	rice destined for production of food for infants and young children	Annex I section 3.4.1.5
100	wet weight	scallops	Annex I section 3.4.7.1
150	product as placed on market	non-parboiled milled rice	Rice as defined in Codex Standard 198-1995.
200	wet weight	crustaceans other than crabs, crab-like crustaceans, prawns, shrimps, langoustine, and rock lobster	Annex I section 3.4.6.2
250	product as placed on market	parboiled rice, husked rice, rice flour	Rice as defined in Codex Standard 198-1995.
300	product as placed on market	rice waffles, rice wafers, rice crackers, rice cakes, rice flakes, and popped breakfast rice	Annex I section 3.4.1.4.
500	wet weight	bivalve molluscs other than scallops	Annex I section 3.4.7.2
500	wet weight	muscle meat of anglerfish, monkfish, giant stargazer, flatfishes, haddock, herring, ray, and shark	Annex I section 3.4.5.2
1500	wet weight	langoustine (Nephrops norvegicus) and rock lobster (Jasus species)	Annex I section 3.4.6.3
Total arsenic (tAs)1 limit
500	product as placed on market	salt	Annex I section 3.4.9 is restated in Regulation (EU) 2025/1891
Cadmium (Cd)32 limits
5	product as placed on market	infant formulae, follow-on formulae, food for special medical purposes intended for infants and young children, and young-child formulae placed on the market as liquid and manufactured from cow's milk proteins or cow's milk protein hydrolysates	Annex I section 3.2.17.2.
10	product as placed on market	infant formulae, follow-on formulae, food for special medical purposes intended for infants and young children, and young-child formulae placed on the market as liquid and manufactured from soy protein isolates alone or mixed with cow's milk proteins	Annex I section 3.2.17.4.
10	product as placed on market	infant formulae, follow-on formulae, food for special medical purposes intended for infants and young children, and young-child formulae placed on the market as powder and manufactured from cow's milk proteins or cow's milk protein hydrolysates	Annex I section 3.2.17.1
20	ready to use	drinks for infants and young children labelled and placed on the market as such, liquid or reconstituted, except formula and young-child formulae	Annex I section 3.2.19.1
20	product as placed on market	infant formulae, follow-on formulae, food for special medical purposes intended for infants and young children, and young-child formulae placed on the market as powder and manufactured from soy protein isolates alone or mixed with cow's milk proteins	Annex I section 3.2.17.3
40	product as placed on market	baby food and processed cereal-based food for infants and young children	Annex I section 3.2.20.
40	product as placed on market	pulses, general	Pulse commodity row.
50	product as placed on market	barley and rye	maximum level
50	wet weight	cultivated fungi, except oyster and shiitake	maximum level
50	wet weight	meat of bovine animals, sheep, pig, and poultry	Excludes offal.
100	commodity	cereals except listed cereal-specific rows	Annex I section 3.2.12.1.
100	wet weight	leaf vegetables, general	Except spinaches/similar leaves row (200).
100	product as placed on market	milk chocolate with less than 30 percent total dry cocoa solids	Annex I section 3.2.15.1.
100	product as placed on market	oilseeds, general	Except listed oilseed-specific rows.
100	wet weight	root and tuber vegetables, general	Potatoes as peeled.
150	wet weight	oyster mushroom and shiitake mushroom	maximum level
150	commodity	rice, quinoa, wheat bran, and wheat gluten	Annex I section 3.2.12.3.
180	product as placed on market	durum wheat	maximum level
200	product as placed on market	peanuts and soy beans	Oilseed commodity row.
200	wet weight	spinaches and similar leaves, mustard seedlings, and fresh herbs	Annex I section 3.2.6.2.
200	product as placed on market	tree nuts, general	Except higher listed rows (e.g., pine nuts).
200	product as placed on market	wheat germ	maximum level
300	product as placed on market	chocolate with less than 50 percent total dry cocoa solids; milk chocolate with at least 30 percent total dry cocoa solids	Annex I section 3.2.15.2.
300	product as placed on market	pine nuts	Specific tree-nut row.
500	wet weight	crustaceans	Fishery commodity row.
500	commodity	linseeds and sunflower seeds	Annex I section 3.2.11.5.
500	wet weight	wild fungi	After washing and edible-part separation.
600	product as placed on market	cocoa powder placed on the market for final consumer or as ingredient in sweetened cocoa powder or powdered chocolate	Annex I section 3.2.15.4.
800	product as placed on market	chocolate with at least 50 percent total dry cocoa solids	Annex I section 3.2.15.3.
1000	wet weight	cephalopods	Fishery commodity row.
1000	product as placed on market	food supplements, general	maximum level
3000	product as placed on market	food supplements at least 80 percent dried seaweed, seaweed products, or dried bivalve molluscs	maximum level
Mercury, total (tHg)3 limits
300	wet weight	listed lower-mercury fish and cephalopods/marine gastropods, including cod, herring, mackerel, salmon/trout species listed, sardine/pilchard, sole, whiting, and others	Annex I section 3.3.1.3.
500	wet weight	crustaceans, molluscs, and muscle meat of fish except species listed at lower or higher mercury levels	Annex I section 3.3.1.1.
1000	wet weight	listed higher-mercury fish including tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, halibut, pike, sturgeon, and others	Annex I section 3.3.1.2.
Nickel (Ni)31 limits
100	product as placed on market	infant/young-child formula, liquid	Applies from 2025-07-01.
250	product as placed on market	fruit/vegetable juices and nectars, general	Applies from 2025-07-01.
250	product as placed on market	infant/young-child formula, powder, except soy-isolate	Applies from 2025-07-01.
400	wet weight	fruiting vegetables	Applies from 2025-07-01.
400	product as placed on market	infant/young-child formula, powder, soy protein isolate	Applies from 2025-07-01.
500	product as placed on market	baby food except juices	Applies from 2025-07-01.
500	wet weight	brassica vegetables	Applies from 2025-07-01.
500	wet weight	leafy vegetables except fresh herbs	Applies from 2025-07-01.
800	product as placed on market	cereals except durum/rice/husked-rice/pseudocereal/oat rows	Applies from 2026-07-01.
900	wet weight	root, tuber and bulb vegetables	Applies from 2025-07-01.
1000	product as placed on market	juices/nectars from passion fruit, cocoa fruit, small fruits/berries, coconut water	Applies from 2025-07-01.
1000	product as placed on market	legume vegetables except soy beans/edamame	Applies from 2025-07-01.
1200	wet weight	fresh herbs	Applies from 2025-07-01.
1500	product as placed on market	durum wheat and rice except husked rice	Applies from 2026-07-01.
2000	product as placed on market	husked rice	Applies from 2026-07-01.
2500	product as placed on market	milk chocolate < 30 % dry cocoa solids	Applies from 2025-07-01.
3000	product as placed on market	processed cereal-based food for infants and young children	Applies from 2025-07-01.
3000	product as placed on market	pseudo cereals and millet	Applies from 2026-07-01.
3500	edible part	tree nuts except chestnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts	Applies from 2025-07-01.
4000	product as placed on market	pulses except dry beans/lupins	Applies from 2025-07-01.
5000	product as placed on market	oats (grains without husk)	Applies from 2026-07-01.
6000	product as placed on market	soy beans / edamame (Glycine max), legume-vegetable row	Applies from 2025-07-01.
7000	product as placed on market	milk chocolate >= 30 % dry cocoa solids, and chocolate	Applies from 2025-07-01.
8000	edible part	sunflower seed	Applies from 2025-07-01.
10000	edible part	chestnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts	Applies from 2025-07-01.
12000	product as placed on market	dry beans and dry lupins / lupini beans	Applies from 2025-07-01.
12000	edible part	peanuts	Applies from 2025-07-01.
15000	product as placed on market	cocoa powder / fat-reduced cocoa powder (drinking chocolate)	Applies from 2025-07-01.
15000	edible part	soy beans, oilseed row	Applies from 2025-07-01.
30000	product as placed on market	seaweed except wakame	Applies from 2025-07-01.
40000	product as placed on market	wakame	Applies from 2025-07-01.
Tin (Sn)4 limits
50000	product as placed on market	canned baby food and canned processed cereal-based food for infants and young children, except canned dried and canned powdered products	Annex I section 3.5.4.
50000	product as placed on market	canned infant formulae, canned follow-on formulae, and canned young-child formulae, except canned dried and canned powdered products	Annex I section 3.5.3.
100000	product as placed on market	canned beverages, including canned fruit and vegetable juices, except canned dried and canned powdered products	Annex I section 3.5.2
200000	product as placed on market	canned foods other than canned beverages, except canned dried and canned powdered products	Annex I section 3.5.1

BasisValues appear in the basis the instrument states; no conversion is applied on this page. A standard citing a value in a different basis discloses the conversion on its own derivation 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. 9 published standards cite it.

Infant formula (powder)

Binds Lead (Pb) · Inorganic arsenic (iAs) · Cadmium (Cd) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Infant formula (ready-to-feed, liquid)

Binds Lead (Pb) · Inorganic arsenic (iAs) · Cadmium (Cd) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Baby cereals & dry grain products

Binds Lead (Pb) · Cadmium (Cd) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Fruit purées

Binds Inorganic arsenic (iAs) · Cadmium (Cd) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Non-root vegetable purées

Binds Inorganic arsenic (iAs) · Cadmium (Cd) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Root-vegetable purées

Binds Lead (Pb) · Inorganic arsenic (iAs) · Cadmium (Cd) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Mixed meals (meat & grain combinations)

Binds Inorganic arsenic (iAs) · Cadmium (Cd) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Fruit juice (not canned)

Binds Lead (Pb) · Inorganic arsenic (iAs) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Teething biscuits & finger snacks

Binds Lead (Pb) · Cadmium (Cd) · Nickel (Ni)

Strictest

Rows appear here only once the citing standard is published. A limit recorded above that binds nothing today 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.