EU Regulation 2023/915 Cadmium Maximum Levels
Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 sets enforceable cadmium maximum levels by matrix. These are external EU legal maximum levels, not HMTc thresholds.
For product pages, route only rows that match the same product basis. For ingredient pages, these values are useful because many cadmium drivers are commodity-specific: rice and cereals, cocoa solids, leafy vegetables, root/tuber vegetables, oilseeds, fishery products, bivalve molluscs, and edible offal.
Infant And Young-Child Rows
| Product scope | EU Cd maximum level | Normalized value | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant formulae, follow-on formulae, food for special medical purposes intended for infants and young children, and young-child formulae, powder, manufactured from cow’s milk proteins or cow’s milk protein hydrolysates | 0.010 mg/kg | 10 ug/kg | Product as placed on market. |
| Same, liquid, manufactured from cow’s milk proteins or cow’s milk protein hydrolysates | 0.005 mg/kg | 5 ug/kg | Product as placed on market. |
| Same, powder, manufactured from soy protein isolates alone or mixed with cow’s milk proteins | 0.020 mg/kg | 20 ug/kg | Product as placed on market. |
| Same, liquid, manufactured from soy protein isolates alone or mixed with cow’s milk proteins | 0.010 mg/kg | 10 ug/kg | Product as placed on market. |
| Young-child formulae, powder, manufactured from plant protein isolates other than soy protein isolates | 0.020 mg/kg | 20 ug/kg | Product as placed on market. |
| Young-child formulae, liquid, manufactured from plant protein isolates other than soy protein isolates | 0.010 mg/kg | 10 ug/kg | Product as placed on market. |
| Drinks for infants and young children labelled and placed on market as such, liquid or reconstituted | 0.020 mg/kg | 20 ug/kg | Ready to use; includes fruit juices. |
| Baby food and processed cereal-based food for infants and young children | 0.040 mg/kg | 40 ug/kg | Product as placed on market. |
Commodity Rows For Ingredient Pages
| Commodity or matrix | EU Cd maximum level | Normalized value | HMI routing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruits, general | 0.050 mg/kg | 50 ug/kg | Fruit ingredient context. |
| Citrus, pome, stone fruits, table olives, kiwi, bananas, mangoes, papayas, pineapples | 0.020 mg/kg | 20 ug/kg | Fruit ingredient context. |
| Berries and small fruits, except raspberries | 0.030 mg/kg | 30 ug/kg | Fruit ingredient context. |
| Raspberries | 0.040 mg/kg | 40 ug/kg | Fruit ingredient context. |
| Tree nuts, general | 0.20 mg/kg | 200 ug/kg | Nut ingredient context. |
| Pine nuts | 0.30 mg/kg | 300 ug/kg | Nut ingredient context. |
| Root and tuber vegetables, general | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | potatoes and root/tuber ingredient context; potatoes apply to peeled potatoes. |
| Beetroots | 0.060 mg/kg | 60 ug/kg | Root vegetable context. |
| Celeriac | 0.15 mg/kg | 150 ug/kg | Root vegetable context. |
| Horseradish, parsnips, salsify | 0.20 mg/kg | 200 ug/kg | Root vegetable context. |
| Radishes | 0.020 mg/kg | 20 ug/kg | Root vegetable context. |
| Tropical roots and tubers, parsley roots, turnips | 0.050 mg/kg | 50 ug/kg | Root/tuber context. |
| Bulb vegetables, general | 0.030 mg/kg | 30 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Garlic | 0.050 mg/kg | 50 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Fruiting vegetables, general | 0.020 mg/kg | 20 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Aubergines | 0.030 mg/kg | 30 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Brassica vegetables, general | 0.040 mg/kg | 40 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Leafy brassica | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Leaf vegetables, general | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | spinach context. |
| Spinaches and similar leaves, mustard seedlings, fresh herbs | 0.20 mg/kg | 200 ug/kg | spinach and herb context. |
| Legume vegetables | 0.020 mg/kg | 20 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Stem vegetables, general | 0.030 mg/kg | 30 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Celery | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Leeks | 0.040 mg/kg | 40 ug/kg | Ingredient context. |
| Cultivated fungi, except oyster and shiitake | 0.050 mg/kg | 50 ug/kg | Mushroom ingredient context. |
| Oyster mushroom and shiitake mushroom | 0.15 mg/kg | 150 ug/kg | Mushroom ingredient context. |
| Wild fungi | 0.50 mg/kg | 500 ug/kg | wild-mushrooms. |
| Pulses, general | 0.040 mg/kg | 40 ug/kg | Pulse ingredient context. |
| Proteins from pulses | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | Protein ingredient context. |
| Oilseeds, general | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | Oilseed ingredient context. |
| Rape seeds | 0.15 mg/kg | 150 ug/kg | Oilseed ingredient context. |
| Peanuts and soy beans | 0.20 mg/kg | 200 ug/kg | Peanut/soy ingredient context. |
| Mustard seeds | 0.30 mg/kg | 300 ug/kg | Oilseed ingredient context. |
| Linseeds and sunflower seeds | 0.50 mg/kg | 500 ug/kg | sunflower-seeds. |
| Poppy seeds | 1.20 mg/kg | 1200 ug/kg | Oilseed ingredient context. |
| Cereals, general | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | wheat and cereal context. |
| Barley and rye | 0.050 mg/kg | 50 ug/kg | Cereal context. |
| Rice, quinoa, wheat bran, wheat gluten | 0.15 mg/kg | 150 ug/kg | rice, wheat. |
| Durum wheat | 0.18 mg/kg | 180 ug/kg | wheat. |
| Wheat germ | 0.20 mg/kg | 200 ug/kg | wheat. |
| Meat of bovine animals, sheep, pig, and poultry | 0.050 mg/kg | 50 ug/kg | Animal ingredient context; excludes offal. |
| Horsemeat | 0.20 mg/kg | 200 ug/kg | Animal ingredient context; excludes offal. |
| Liver of bovine animals, sheep, pig, poultry, and horse | 0.50 mg/kg | 500 ug/kg | organ-meats. |
| Kidney of bovine animals, sheep, pig, poultry, and horse | 1.0 mg/kg | 1000 ug/kg | organ-meats. |
| Muscle meat of fish, general | 0.050 mg/kg | 50 ug/kg | fish. |
| Mackerel, tuna, bichique | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | fish, species-specific caveat. |
| Bullet tuna | 0.15 mg/kg | 150 ug/kg | fish, species-specific caveat. |
| Anchovy, swordfish, sardine | 0.25 mg/kg | 250 ug/kg | fish, species-specific caveat. |
| Crustaceans | 0.50 mg/kg | 500 ug/kg | Fishery ingredient context. |
| Bivalve molluscs | 1.0 mg/kg | 1000 ug/kg | bivalve-molluscs. |
| Cephalopods | 1.0 mg/kg | 1000 ug/kg | Fishery ingredient context. |
| Milk chocolate with <30 percent total dry cocoa solids | 0.10 mg/kg | 100 ug/kg | chocolate. |
| Chocolate with <50 percent total dry cocoa solids; milk chocolate with >=30 percent total dry cocoa solids | 0.30 mg/kg | 300 ug/kg | chocolate. |
| Chocolate with >=50 percent total dry cocoa solids | 0.80 mg/kg | 800 ug/kg | chocolate. |
| Cocoa powder placed on market for final consumer or as ingredient in sweetened cocoa powder/powdered chocolate | 0.60 mg/kg | 600 ug/kg | cocoa. |
| Salt | 0.50 mg/kg | 500 ug/kg | Salt ingredient context. |
| Food supplements, general | 1.0 mg/kg | 1000 ug/kg | Supplement context. |
| Food supplements at least 80 percent dried seaweed, seaweed products, or dried bivalve molluscs | 3.0 mg/kg | 3000 ug/kg | Supplement context. |
Comparison Notes
EU Cd values are useful for HMTc because they show which matrices already have strict legal maximum levels and which foods are considered achievability-sensitive. They should not be used as private certification thresholds without considering U.S. law, Codex, occurrence distributions, child exposure, serving size, feasibility, and analytical uncertainty.