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Safety of water lentil powder from Lemnaceae as a Novel Food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283

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Overview

The EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens assessed a water lentil powder made from thermally washed, dried and milled Lemna minor and Wolffia globosa grown in hydroponic basins in Florida. The opinion prints the applicant’s batch analyses, including arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in six batches, and concludes that safety cannot be established because of the manganese intake.

Key numbers

  • Arsenic: 0.037 to 0.08 mg/kg across six batches (Table 1).
  • Lead: below 0.02 to 0.016 mg/kg; cadmium below 0.01 to 0.014 mg/kg (Table 1).
  • Mercury below the reporting limit (< 0.01 or < 0.015 mg/kg) in all six batches (Table 1).
  • Manganese 128 to 333 mg/kg, above the proposed specification of 250 mg/kg in three batches (Table 1; Table 4).

Methods (brief)

Minerals and heavy metals were measured by a modified AOAC 993.14 method in ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratories; two later batches were analyzed for trace elements only by in-house ICP-AES/OES. Detection limits are shown only as ”<” values, and no reference-material results are printed.

Evidence Fitness

Manufacturer-supplied data on one producer’s batches from one growing site, reported by a regulator, not an independent survey. Single values per batch. It measures water lentil powder directly, so it supports the water-lentils page, but as industry batch data rather than market occurrence.