Codex CXS 193-1995 — General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed
Summary
Codex Standard CXS 193-1995 is the international Codex Alimentarius General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed, the operative international standard from which national food-safety regulators in many jurisdictions derive their domestic maximum levels. The standard sets matrix-specific maximum levels for cadmium, lead, mercury, methylmercury, inorganic arsenic, tin, marine biotoxins, mycotoxins, and other contaminants. Cadmium MLs span 22 matrix categories from 0.003 mg/kg in natural mineral waters to 2.0 mg/kg in 100 percent cocoa powder. Lead MLs are the second-most-extensive in the standard, spanning 30+ matrix categories. The standard is amended periodically through the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods process; the 17th Session (April 2024) added the new quinoa cadmium ML at 0.15 mg/kg, which is reflected in the current standard.
Key numbers — Cadmium MLs
JECFA reference: 16 (1972), 33 (1988), 41 (1993), 55 (2000), 61 (2003), 64 (2005), 73 (2010), 77 (2013), 91 (2021). The 73rd meeting established the operative provisional tolerable monthly intake (PTMI) of 25 µg/kg b.w./month.
Toxicological guidance value: PTMI of 25 µg Cd/kg body weight per month, established at JECFA’s 73rd meeting (2010), reflecting the long half-life of cadmium in humans.
Contaminant definition: Cadmium, total.
Related codes of practice: CXC 49-2001 (Source-directed measures), CXC 81-2022 (Cadmium in cocoa beans).
| Commodity / Product | Cd ML (mg/kg) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Brassica vegetables | 0.05 | ML does not apply to Brassica leafy vegetables |
| Bulb vegetables | 0.05 | |
| Fruiting vegetables | 0.05 | ML does not apply to tomatoes and edible fungi |
| Leafy vegetables | 0.2 | Includes Brassica leafy vegetables |
| Legume vegetables | 0.1 | |
| Pulses | 0.1 | ML does not apply to soybeans (dry) |
| Root and tuber vegetables | 0.1 | ML does not apply to celeriac; potato is peeled |
| Stalk and stem vegetables | 0.1 | |
| Cereal grains (general) | 0.1 | ML does not apply to buckwheat, cañihua, quinoa, wheat, and rice |
| Rice, polished | 0.4 | |
| Wheat | 0.2 | Common wheat, durum, spelt, emmer |
| Quinoa | 0.15 | Adopted at CCCF17 2024; relevant standard CXS 333-2019 |
| Marine bivalve molluscs | 2 | ML applies to clams, cockles, mussels; not oysters or scallops |
| Cephalopods | 2 | Cuttlefishes, octopuses, squids without viscera |
| Natural mineral waters | 0.003 | Expressed in mg/L |
| Salt, food grade | 0.5 | |
| Chocolates <30 percent cocoa solids | 0.3 | Including milk chocolate and similar |
| Chocolate 30 to <50 percent cocoa solids | 0.7 | |
| Chocolate 50 to <70 percent cocoa solids | 0.8 | |
| Chocolate ≥70 percent cocoa solids | 0.9 | |
| Cocoa powder (100 percent cocoa solids on dry matter basis) | 2.0 | Applies to cocoa powder as ingredient in other foods; does not apply to cocoa powder-based drink mixes containing milk powder, sugar, etc. |
Key numbers — Lead MLs (selected)
JECFA reference: 10 (1966), 16 (1972), 22 (1978), 30 (1986), 41 (1993), 53 (1999), 73 (2010). At the 73rd meeting (2010), JECFA estimated that the previously established PTWI of 25 µg/kg b.w. is associated with a decrease of at least three intelligence quotient (IQ) points in children and an increase in systolic blood pressure of approximately 3 mmHg (0.4 kPa) in adults; the Committee concluded the PTWI could no longer be considered health-protective and withdrew it.
Contaminant definition: Lead, total.
Related codes of practice: CXC 56-2004 (Prevention and reduction of lead contamination in foods), CXC 49-2001.
| Commodity / Product | Pb ML (mg/kg) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Berries and other small fruits | 0.1 | Excluding cranberry, currant, elderberry |
| Cranberry | 0.2 | |
| Currants | 0.2 | Fruit with stem |
| Elderberry | 0.2 | |
| Fruits (general) | 0.1 | Excluding cranberry, currant, elderberry |
| Brassica vegetables | 0.1 | Excluding kale and leafy Brassica vegetables |
| Bulb vegetables | 0.1 | |
| Fruiting vegetables | 0.05 | ML does not apply to fungi and mushrooms |
| Leafy vegetables | 0.3 | Includes leafy Brassica vegetables; excludes spinach |
| Legume vegetables | 0.1 | |
| Fresh farmed mushrooms (Agaricus, shiitake, oyster) | 0.3 | |
| Pulses | 0.1 | |
| Root and tuber vegetables | 0.1 | Potato: peeled potato |
| Canned fruits | 0.1 | |
| Jams, jellies, marmalades | 0.4 | |
| Mango chutney | 0.4 | |
| Canned vegetables | 0.1 | |
| Preserved tomatoes | 0.05 | Reference value 4.5 °Brix soluble solids |
| Table olives | 0.4 | |
| Pickled cucumbers | 0.1 | |
| Canned chestnuts and chestnut puree | 0.05 | |
| Fruit juices | 0.03 | Excluding juices exclusively from berries; ML applies to juices for infants and young children |
| Fruit juices exclusively from berries and small fruits | 0.05 | Excludes grape juice |
| Grape juice | 0.04 | Includes juices for infants and young children |
| Cereal grains | 0.2 | Excluding buckwheat, cañihua, quinoa |
| Cereal-based foods for infants and young children | 0.02 | Up to 12 months (infants) and 12-36 months (young children) |
| Infant formula and follow-up formula | 0.01 | As consumed |
| Ready-to-eat meals for infants and young children | 0.02 | |
| Quinoa | 0.2 | |
| Fish | 0.3 | After removing digestive tract |
| Meat of cattle, pigs, sheep | 0.1 | Without bones; also applies to fat |
| Meat and fat of poultry | 0.1 | |
| Cattle, edible offal of | 0.2 | Brain, head, heart, kidney, liver, tongue, stomach |
| Pig, edible offal of | 0.15 | Blood, heart, kidney, liver, tongue |
| Poultry, edible offal of | 0.1 | Heart, kidney, liver, stomach, thymus |
| Edible fats and oils | 0.08 | |
| Fat spreads and blended spreads | 0.04 | |
| Milk | 0.02 |
(The Pb ML table extends through additional matrices including salt, processed cereals, wine, juices for special use; the entries above cover the most-cited and policy-consequential matrices.)
Provenance notes
License public-redistribute. Codex Alimentarius standards are released by FAO/WHO under terms permitting reproduction with attribution; the standard is freely accessible on FAO’s website at the canonical URL. The PDF was retrieved from the FAO Codex web service via WebFetch on 2026-04-25; SHA-256 of the canonical FAO PDF is pending future ingestion when the document is added to raw/standards/. The agency-website reference and the JECFA-referenced values within the standard are sufficient primary-source citations for the values recorded here.
The standard is periodically amended. The values in this source page reflect the standard inclusive of CCCF17 2024 amendments (notably the new quinoa Cd ML of 0.15 mg/kg and the new quinoa Pb ML of 0.2 mg/kg, both reflected in the current standard).
Implications
- Certification: this standard is the international anchor for matrix-specific Cd and Pb MLs. HMT&C threshold-setting for product categories should reference these MLs for matrices in scope. Codex MLs are minimum harmonized values; many national jurisdictions (EU under Regulation 2023/915, US FDA via CTZ, China via GB 2762) set domestic MLs equal to or tighter than Codex.
- Courses: the multi-matrix structure of CXS 193 (with separate MLs for cocoa powder vs chocolate by cocoa-solid percentage, for offal by species, for infant foods at age-specific tighter levels) is a teachable model of contaminant-management standardization.
- App: every commodity-by-commodity ML in this standard is a potential app benchmark. Cocoa powder Cd ML of 2.0 mg/kg, dark chocolate (≥70 percent solids) Cd ML of 0.9 mg/kg, polished rice Cd ML of 0.4 mg/kg, leafy vegetables Cd ML of 0.2 mg/kg, infant formula Pb ML of 0.01 mg/kg, infant cereal-based foods Pb ML of 0.02 mg/kg are the operationally most-cited values for consumer-facing comparison.