Heavy metals may appear in products as a result of environmental contamination. Since such contamination generally has a negative impact on the quality of food and may present a risk to health, the maximum levels permitted in foodstuffs are prescribed in legislation. EU regulations have been assimilated into UK law and cover the following heavy metals: cadmium, lead, mercury and inorganic arsenic and inorganic tin.
Legislation
Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2006/1881/contents) sets maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs and assimilated regulation (EC) No 333/2007 Laying down the sampling methods and the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, inorganic tin in foodstuffs, prescribes the methods to be used for sampling and analysis for enforcement purposes. In the EU maximum limits for certain contaminants in food are set in Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915. This legislation does not apply in GB as it was introduced after EU Exit.
Assimilated Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1006, applicable from 1 January 2016 onwards, amends Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 setting maximum levels of inorganic arsenic in rice and rice products.
Resources
Food Standards Agency
Advice on Chemical Contaminants can be found here:
Chemical contaminants | Food Standards Agency
EURL-MN Heavy Metals and Nitrogenous Compounds
Regulation (EC) No. 776/2006 nominates the National Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Copenhagen as the European Union Reference Laboratory (EU-RL) for Heavy Metals and Nitrogenous Compounds (EURL-MN) in Feed and Food.
The EURL website includes a list of methods for metals and nitrogenous compounds in feed and food: