HOTREC Position on Acrylamide

HOTREC Position on Acrylamide

HOTREC takes good note of the upcoming revision of Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 of 20 November 2017, on “Establishing mitigation measures and benchmark levels for the reduction of the presence of acrylamide in food”.

Acrylamide is a topic that deserves HOTREC’s highest attention, taking into account its health implications.

We understand that Member States are considering the following during their discussions:

• The review of existing benchmark levels on mitigation measures and benchmark levels for the reduction of the presence of acrylamide in food;
• The establishment of new benchmark levels, in particular for certain foods mentioned in Commission Recommendation (EU) 2019/1888 of 7 November 2019 on the monitoring of the presence of acrylamide in certain foods;
• The establishment of maximum levels.

We would like to point out that the hospitality sector considers that the current Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 is flexible enough for small restaurants, especially when dealing with French fries and toasted bread. In fact, the mitigation measures in Annex II Part A of the current Regulation are feasible for small restaurants. This is the reason why we hope that Arts. 2 & 4 of the Regulation, as well as Annex II/Part A should remain unchanged (even under the possibility that new foodstuffs will be added to Annex II Part A).

Nevertheless, HOTREC is very concerned with:

• The possibility of setting the existing benchmarks lower
• The possibility of replacing existing benchmarks by maximum levels
• The addition of unnecessary food categories

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