Overview
This Federal Register compilation is the 13 September 2024 authorised version of Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code Schedule 19. It sets maximum levels for selected food contaminants and natural toxicants and is the raw regulatory source behind Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code - Schedule 19 - Maximum levels of contaminants and natural toxicants.
Key numbers
All metal-contaminant values below are maximum levels in mg/kg unless the Schedule states otherwise.
| Contaminant | Food or matrix | Maximum level |
|---|---|---|
| aluminum (Al) | Infant formula, follow-on formula, and special medical purpose product for infants other than preterm-infant products | 0.5 |
| aluminum (Al) | Soy-based infant formula products | 1 |
| aluminum (Al) | Special medical purpose product for preterm infants | 0.2 |
| total arsenic (tAs) | Cereal grains and milled cereal products except sweet corns | 1 |
| total arsenic (tAs) | Salt | 0.5 |
| inorganic arsenic (iAs) | Crustacea | 2 |
| inorganic arsenic (iAs) | Fish | 2 |
| inorganic arsenic (iAs) | Molluscs | 1 |
| inorganic arsenic (iAs) | Seaweed | 1 |
| cadmium (Cd) | Rice | 0.1 |
| cadmium (Cd) | Wheat | 0.1 |
| cadmium (Cd) | Peanuts | 0.5 |
| cadmium (Cd) | Chocolate and cocoa products | 0.5 |
| cadmium (Cd) | Meat of cattle, sheep and pig, excluding offal | 0.05 |
| cadmium (Cd) | Kidney of cattle, sheep and pig | 2.5 |
| cadmium (Cd) | Liver of cattle, sheep and pig | 1.25 |
| cadmium (Cd) | Molluscs excluding dredge/bluff oysters and queen scallops | 2 |
| lead (Pb) | Infant formula products | 0.01 |
| lead (Pb) | Cereals except sweet corns, pulses and legumes | 0.2 |
| lead (Pb) | Fruit | 0.1 |
| lead (Pb) | Fish | 0.5 |
| lead (Pb) | Molluscs | 2 |
| lead (Pb) | Salt | 2 |
| total mercury (tHg) | Salt | 0.1 |
| tin (Sn) | All canned foods | 250 |
For mercury in fish, crustacea, and molluscs, Schedule 19 uses mean and sample-unit rules. Gemfish, billfish including marlin, southern bluefin tuna, barramundi, ling, orange roughy, rays, and all shark species have a mean level of 1.0 mg/kg and a maximum sample-unit level of 1.5 mg/kg where 10 or more sample units are available and any sample unit exceeds 1.0 mg/kg. Other fish, fish products, crustacea, and molluscs have a mean level of 0.5 mg/kg under the same sampling condition and a maximum sample-unit level of 1.5 mg/kg. Where insufficient samples are available, the maximum sample-unit level is 1.0 mg/kg. Dried or partially dried fish mercury is calculated on an 80 percent moisture basis.
Methods (brief)
This is a legal standard, not an occurrence study. Section S19-3 states that food portions ordinarily consumed are the relevant portions, seaweed calculations are based on seaweed at 85 percent hydration, and dried, dehydrated, or concentrated foods other than seaweed are calculated using the food or ingredients before drying, dehydration, or concentration unless the mercury-specific fish rules apply.
Implications
Certification: The source supplies Australia/New Zealand regulatory comparator values only. It does not set HMTc thresholds.
Courses: The source is useful for teaching basis and sampling rules, especially the separate treatment of mercury in fish and aluminium in infant formula.
App: The source can support jurisdictional regulatory context for AU/NZ product rows when a user requests legal-comparator information.
Microbiome: No direct microbiome endpoint.
Related evidence
- Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code - Schedule 19 - Maximum levels of contaminants and natural toxicants
- Infant Formula Powder
- Infant Formula, RTF Liquid (Non-Soy)
- Canned Foods, General
- Fish — marine, predatory (tuna, swordfish, shark, king mackerel)
- Fish — marine, non-predatory (sardines, anchovies, salmon, cod)
- Shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, oysters, mussels)
Update history
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