The instrument
This page records the heavy-metal maximum levels set by Panama Resolucion 368:2009 - fishery product contaminants, the instrument of Panama Ministry of Health, 2009. 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. 10 maximum levels across 3 analytes and 9 product categories, grouped by analyte and ordered by limit.
| Limit µg/kg | Basis | Product scope | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead (Pb)4 limits | |||
| 300 | product as placed on market | fish meat | Article Sixth metals table |
| 500 | product as placed on market | crustaceans, excluding dark crab meat and lobster head and thorax meat | Article Sixth metals table |
| 1000 | product as placed on market | cephalopods without viscera | Article Sixth metals table |
| 1500 | product as placed on market | bivalve molluscs | Article Sixth metals table |
| Cadmium (Cd)4 limits | |||
| 50 | product as placed on market | fish meat excluding the listed cadmium species | Article Sixth metals table |
| 100 | product as placed on market | anchovy, bonito, mojarra, eel, mullet, luvar, sardine, tuna, and wedge sole or lenguadillo | Article Sixth metals table |
| 300 | product as placed on market | swordfish | Article Sixth metals table |
| 500 | product as placed on market | crustaceans, excluding dark crab meat and lobster head and thorax meat | Article Sixth metals table |
| Mercury, total (tHg)2 limits | |||
| 500 | product as placed on market | fishery products and fish meat excluding the listed mercury species; applies to crustaceans excluding dark crab meat and lobster head and thorax meat | Article Sixth metals table |
| 1000 | product as placed on market | shark, tuna, sierra, swordfish, marlin, and sailfish | Article Sixth metals 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.