Scope
MERCOSUR/GMC Resolution No. 12/11 approves the regional technical regulation on maximum limits for inorganic contaminants in foods. Article 5 states that the resolution applies in the territory of the states parties, to trade between them, and to extra-zone imports. The annex excludes foods for infants and young children, which are governed by specific technical regulations.
Exact limit and units
The annex states most limits in mg/kg. Wine rows are stated in mg/L. For liquid products, the annex allows mg/L expression where density does not differ by more than plus or minus 5% from water.
| Species | Matrix | Limit | Unit | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| total arsenic (tAs) | edible vegetable or animal fats and oils including margarine | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | sugars | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | honey | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | hard and soft candies and similar products including chewing gum | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | cocoa paste | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | chocolate and cocoa products with less than 40% cocoa | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | chocolate and cocoa-based products with more than 40% cocoa | 0.4 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | non-alcoholic beverages excluding juices | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | fruit juices and nectars | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | fermented and fermento-distilled alcoholic beverages except wine | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | wine | 0.2 | mg/L | product as offered to consumer; source unit mg/L |
| total arsenic (tAs) | cereals and cereal-based products excluding wheat, rice, derivatives, and oils | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | wheat and derivatives except oil | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | rice and derivatives except oil | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | Brassica vegetables excluding loose-leaf Brassicas | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | leaf vegetables including loose-leaf Brassicas and fresh aromatic herbs | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | bulb vegetables and sheathing leaves | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | fruiting vegetables of the Cucurbitaceae family | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | fruiting vegetables other than Cucurbitaceae | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | mushrooms except Agaricus, Pleurotus, Lentinula, or Lentinus | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | leguminous vegetables | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | pulses, dried legume seeds, except soybean | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | mushrooms of the genera Agaricus, Pleurotus, Lentinula, or Lentinus | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | roots and tubers | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | young stems and petioles | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | dried fruits | 0.8 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | fresh fruits excluding berries and small fruits | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | fresh berries and small fruits | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | table olives | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | tomato concentrates | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | compotes, jellies, jams, marmalades, and other fruit or vegetable sweets | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | tea, yerba mate, and other vegetables for infusion | 0.6 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | roasted coffee beans and powder | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | soluble coffee powder or granules | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | edible ice | 0.01 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | flavored water ice | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | milk or cream ice cream | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | fruit-based ice cream | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | fluid milk ready for consumption and dairy products without addition, undiluted and unconcentrated | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | milk cream | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | condensed milk and dulce de leche | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | cheeses | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | food-grade salt | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | raw, frozen, or refrigerated bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine, and poultry meats and raw sausages or breaded products | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | edible offal except liver and kidneys | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine, and poultry liver | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | bovine, ovine, porcine, and caprine kidneys | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | eggs and egg products | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | raw, frozen, or refrigerated fish | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | cephalopod molluscs | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | bivalve molluscs | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total arsenic (tAs) | crustaceans | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | edible vegetable or animal fats and oils including margarine | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | sugars | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | honey | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | hard and soft candies and similar products including chewing gum | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | cocoa paste | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | chocolate and cocoa products with less than 40% cocoa | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | chocolate and cocoa-based products with more than 40% cocoa | 0.4 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | non-alcoholic beverages excluding juices | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | fruit juices and nectars | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | fermented and fermento-distilled alcoholic beverages except wine | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | wine | 0.15 | mg/L | product as offered to consumer; source unit mg/L |
| lead (Pb) | cereals and cereal-based products excluding wheat, rice, derivatives, and oils | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | wheat and derivatives except oil | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | rice and derivatives except oil | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | soybean grain | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | Brassica vegetables excluding loose-leaf Brassicas | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | leaf vegetables including loose-leaf Brassicas and fresh aromatic herbs | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | bulb vegetables and sheathing leaves | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | fruiting vegetables of the Cucurbitaceae family | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | fruiting vegetables other than Cucurbitaceae | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | mushrooms except Agaricus, Pleurotus, Lentinula, or Lentinus | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | leguminous vegetables | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | pulses, dried legume seeds, except soybean | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | mushrooms of the genera Agaricus, Pleurotus, Lentinula, or Lentinus | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | roots and tubers | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | young stems and petioles | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | dried fruits | 0.8 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | fresh fruits excluding berries and small fruits | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | fresh berries and small fruits | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | table olives | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | tomato concentrates | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | compotes, jellies, jams, marmalades, and other fruit or vegetable sweets | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | tea, yerba mate, and other vegetables for infusion | 0.6 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | roasted coffee beans and powder | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | soluble coffee powder or granules | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | edible ice | 0.01 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | flavored water ice | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | milk or cream ice cream | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | fruit-based ice cream | 0.07 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | fluid milk ready for consumption and dairy products without addition, undiluted and unconcentrated | 0.02 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | milk cream | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | condensed milk and dulce de leche | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | cheeses | 0.4 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | food-grade salt | 2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | raw, frozen, or refrigerated bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine, and poultry meats and raw sausages or breaded products | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | edible offal except liver and kidneys | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine, and poultry liver | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | bovine, ovine, porcine, and caprine kidneys | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | eggs and egg products | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | raw, frozen, or refrigerated fish | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | cephalopod molluscs | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | bivalve molluscs | 1.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| lead (Pb) | crustaceans | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | honey | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | cocoa paste | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | chocolate and cocoa products with less than 40% cocoa | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | chocolate and cocoa-based products with more than 40% cocoa | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | non-alcoholic beverages excluding juices | 0.02 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | fruit juices and nectars | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | fermented and fermento-distilled alcoholic beverages except wine | 0.02 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | wine | 0.01 | mg/L | product as offered to consumer; source unit mg/L |
| cadmium (Cd) | cereals and cereal-based products excluding wheat, rice, derivatives, and oils | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | wheat and derivatives except oil | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | rice and derivatives except oil | 0.4 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | soybean grain | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | Brassica vegetables excluding loose-leaf Brassicas | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | leaf vegetables including loose-leaf Brassicas and fresh aromatic herbs | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | bulb vegetables and sheathing leaves | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | fruiting vegetables of the Cucurbitaceae family | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | fruiting vegetables other than Cucurbitaceae | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | mushrooms except Agaricus, Pleurotus, Lentinula, or Lentinus | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | leguminous vegetables | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | pulses, dried legume seeds, except soybean | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | mushrooms of the genera Agaricus, Pleurotus, Lentinula, or Lentinus | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | roots and tubers | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | young stems and petioles | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | fresh fruits excluding berries and small fruits | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | fresh berries and small fruits | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | tea, yerba mate, and other vegetables for infusion | 0.4 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | roasted coffee beans and powder | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | soluble coffee powder or granules | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | edible ice | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | flavored water ice | 0.01 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | milk or cream ice cream | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | fruit-based ice cream | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | fluid milk ready for consumption and dairy products without addition, undiluted and unconcentrated | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | milk cream | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | condensed milk and dulce de leche | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | cheeses | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | food-grade salt | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | raw, frozen, or refrigerated bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine, and poultry meats and raw sausages or breaded products | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine, and poultry liver | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | bovine, ovine, porcine, and caprine kidneys | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | raw, frozen, or refrigerated fish except named cadmium exception species | 0.05 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | bonito, mojarra, eel, lisa, jurel, emperor fish, mackerel, sardine, tuna, and acedia or lenguadillo | 0.1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | melba fish | 0.2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | anchovy and swordfish | 0.3 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | cephalopod molluscs | 2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | bivalve molluscs | 2 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| cadmium (Cd) | crustaceans | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total mercury (tHg) | fish except predators | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total mercury (tHg) | predatory fish | 1 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total mercury (tHg) | cephalopod molluscs | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total mercury (tHg) | bivalve molluscs | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| total mercury (tHg) | crustaceans | 0.5 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| tin (Sn) | beverages in tinplate containers including fruit and vegetable juices | 150 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
| tin (Sn) | foods in tinplate containers except beverages | 250 | mg/kg | product as offered to consumer |
How tested
The resolution gives application rules rather than a standalone analytical method. Maximum contents apply to the edible part of the food unless a specific row says otherwise. For dried, diluted, transformed, or compound foods, concentration and dilution factors, ingredient proportions, and the analytical quantification limit are considered when applying the maximum levels.
Enforcement posture
The resolution is a MERCOSUR technical regulation for states parties. It names the national competent bodies for Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and requires incorporation into each state’s legal order before 1 January 2012.
History of changes
MERCOSUR/GMC Resolution No. 12/11 was adopted in Asuncion on 17 June 2011. It repealed MERCOSUR/GMC Resolutions No. 102/94 and No. 35/96 and displaced the older arsenic, lead, and cadmium wine limits in the MERCOSUR wine regulation.
How it compares
This is the regional inorganic-contaminant schedule later incorporated by member-state instruments such as Paraguay Decree No. 1335/2019. Arsenic is recorded as total arsenic because the table says arsenic without specifying inorganic arsenic; mercury is recorded as total mercury because the table says mercury without specifying methylmercury.
Sources
Update history
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