EU Urges Monitoring of Chlorinated Paraffins in Food
The European Commission recommends testing food for industrial chemicals known as chlorinated paraffins through 2029.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Nutrition
The European Commission has recommended that Member States and food business operators monitor chlorinated paraffins in food through 2029. The recommendation sets testing thresholds across several food categories and asks that monitoring data be submitted to the European Food Safety Authority.
Why it matters
A 2020 European Food Safety Authority opinion found insufficient data to complete a dietary exposure assessment, and no health-based guidance value was set at the time. The monitoring initiative is intended to close that data gap for readers and regulators across Europe and beyond.
The recommendation prioritizes measuring C10-C17 chlorinated paraffins, the predominant group found in food, with samples above thresholds requiring further analysis for all PCAs. Dietary exposure remains unquantified because the 2020 EFSA opinion found insufficient data to complete an assessment.
The players
European Commission
The executive body of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation and issuing recommendations such as this monitoring initiative.
European Food Safety Authority
The EU agency that provides independent scientific advice on food and feed safety risks, including its 2020 opinion on chlorinated paraffins.
The details
Chlorinated paraffins are industrial chemicals produced since the 1930s and used in lubricants, plastics, rubber, sealants, and textiles. The recommendation outlines a tiered testing approach, starting with GC-MS/MS or GC-LRMS for the sum of C10-C17 PCAs, and notes that analytical methods capable of detecting all chlorinated paraffins are available at only a few expert laboratories.
Timeline
• 2020: The European Food Safety Authority published its scientific opinion on chlorinated paraffins.
• 2029: The monitoring recommendation period ends.
Health Landscape
The Commission's recommendation follows the European Food Safety Authority's 2020 opinion, which identified insufficient data as the barrier to risk assessment for chlorinated paraffins. The monitoring effort aims to build the occurrence data EFSA said was needed before health-based guidance could be set.
For consumers, the monitoring initiative means food testing for chlorinated paraffins will increase across the EU over the coming years, though the stub does not indicate changes to individual diets. Readers concerned about exposure should watch for published monitoring results submitted to EFSA.
The takeaway
Regulators are prioritizing data collection before setting health limits, so the next meaningful step for chlorinated paraffin safety will come from the monitoring results gathered under this recommendation.
Further reading
Explore more on Nutrition to see how food contaminants fit into broader dietary safety.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Food-safety.
