Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
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The legal context of hempfood in Belgium
FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
DG Animals, Plants and Food
Service Food, Feed & other consumption products
23rd M ay 2011 – Brussels
Europe
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
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1. Legislation : Royal Decree of 29 August 1997
• 1.1 Scope : lists of plants
• 1.2 Advisory Commission & actualisation
• 1.3 List 1 & Derogations
2. Legal context Cannabis sativa L.
3. Conclusions
Joris GEELEN
Expert plants
Secretary of Advisory Commission on Plant preparations
23rd M ay 2011 – Brussels
Europe
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
1. Royal decree on Plants : development
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- Executive decision of Law of 24/01/1977 on protection
of the public health for food and other products
- 1st publication in Belgian Official Journal on 21/11/’97
- 9 decrees with adaptations
• Transposition of Directive 2002/46/EC - May 2003
• Maximum levels for ~30 plants of list 3 - March 2005
- Current update notified to EU COM – TRIS – April 2010
23rd M ay 2011 – Brussels
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
1. Royal decree on Plants
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Defines:
- Lists of forbidden and authorized plants
- Notification food supplements
- Requirements labeling & advertising
- Advisory Commission on Plant preparations
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
1.1 Royal decree on Plants : scope
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- Applies to foods and supplements that contain plants
- In annex 3 lists:
List 1:
Plants that may not be used in or as food.
 Derogation possibility
List 2:
Edible mushrooms
List 3:
Plants - predosed form. To be notified.
(*) Maximum levels
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
1.2 Advisory Commission on Plant preparations
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• President: Em. Prof. Dr. A. Vlietinck
• Consists of 16 representatives from :
9  Research - Unif.
4  Professional org. (NAREDI, BACHI, OPPAS, RASH)
1  Control (APB)
(2  Medicine agency)
 Scientific safety evaluation
5-6 x / year
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
1.2 Advisory Commission on Plant preparations
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- Evaluate plants not listed – conditions not fullfilled
- Advice on derogations for plants on list 1
- Determine maximum levels for plants on list 3 *
- Revision of the lists
- Follow-up literature, side effects, incidents
 Official advice to be made searchable online
23rd M ay 2011 – Brussels
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Hempfood in
Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
1.2 Advisory Commission on Plant preparations
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• Consists of representatives from research (Unif.),
professional org., Medicine agency.
 Evaluate plants not listed – conditions not fullfilled
 Advice on derogations for plants on list 1
 Determine maximum levels for plants on list 3 *
 Revision of the lists
 Evaluate products with encapsulated essential oils
 Follow-up literature, side effects, incidents
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1.2 Current actualisation
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• Transposition of the advice of the Advisory commission
- advice of more than 5 years (2003 - 2008) = 100 advices
• Addition plants and conditions to lists
- 15 to list 1
- Specification of limits for unwanted or toxic substances:
E.g. The plants Lupinus angustifolius L. and Lupinus albus L.
are permitted in food if by analytical reports can be shown that
the seed and flour from the plants do not contain more then
200 mg/kg of alkaloids and that it does not contain anagyrine.
• Check of the nomenclature of all plants
- cooperation with experts of National Botanical garden
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
1.3 Royal decree on Plants : List 1
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Art. 2. § 1. It is prohibited to market plants listed in list 1
of dangerous plants in annex to this decree as or in food.
§ 2. It is prohibited to manufacture and market plant preparations
obtained from plants listed in list 1 …, as or in food.
This provision does not apply to the manufacturing of flavorings.
The Minister may: …
2 ° authorize exceptions to the prohibition … in the case where
on the basis of a toxicological and analytical dossier
can be shown that the plant preparations do
no longer contain the toxic properties or substances
of the plant from which the plant preparations are obtained.
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
2. Legal context Cannabis sativa L.
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Maximal values for tetrahydro-cannabinols (Δ9-THC)
 Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)
• 10 mg/kg for oil of the seeds
• 5 mg/kg
for seeds and flour of seeds
• 0.2 mg/kg for all other foodstuffs and drinks
- Request & Analysis for each batch
- Batch number and mention “THC free” on label
23rd M ay 2011 – Brussels
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
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5. Conclusion
- Science based policies
- Clear legislation and conditions
- Safe, controlable, realistic and workable levels of
Δ9-THC that exclude any possible form of abuse
23rd M ay 2011 – Brussels
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Federal Public Service - Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment
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Contact
For questions regarding plants:
[email protected]
+322/524.73.82
www.health.belgium.be
> Food safety > Foodstuffs > Food supplements
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