Commission urges harmonised monitoring of carcinogenic nitrosamines in food

The European Commission has recommended that Member States, in collaboration with food business operators, monitor the presence of carcinogenic N-nitrosamines in cured meat products, processed fish, alcoholic beverages and other foods, using harmonised sampling and analytical methods. The measure is set out in Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/2329 of 21 October 2026 on monitoring the presence of N-nitrosamines in food, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, L series, on 23 October 2026.

The recommendation was adopted under Article 292 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and signed in Brussels on 21 October 2026 by Olivér Várhelyi, Member of the Commission. It does not create new limits for contaminants; it sets out recommended monitoring practice, analytical performance requirements and data-reporting obligations addressed to national authorities and operators.

Ten carcinogenic compounds under scrutiny

The text builds on a 2023 opinion of the European Food Safety Authority’s Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain, published in the EFSA Journal (2023;21(3):7884, 278 pp). In that opinion the Authority assessed the ten carcinogenic N-nitrosamines known to occur in food and concluded that the margin of exposure at higher exposure levels raises a health concern.

The compounds named in the recommendation are:

• N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA)
• N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA)
• N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)
• N-nitrosodipropylamine (NDPA)
• N-nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA)
• N-nitrosomethylaniline (NMA)
• N-nitrososarcosine (NSAR)
• N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR)
• N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP)
• N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR)

The Authority had asked for more occurrence data on processed meat and other processed foods, including products cooked in different ways with and without the additives nitrates (E 251-252) and nitrites (E 249-250), and for a standardised sensitive method able to quantify both volatile and non-volatile carcinogenic N-nitrosamines.

Sampling, methods and limits of quantification

Monitoring should cover, in particular, cured meat products, processed fish, alcoholic beverages, processed vegetables, processed cereals, milk and dairy products, and fermented, pickled and spiced foods. Sampling is to follow Commission Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 of 28 March 2007 on methods of sampling and analysis for the control of trace elements and processing contaminants in foodstuffs.

Analysis should be based on tandem mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography (LC-MS/MS) or gas chromatography (GC-MS/MS). Where a thermal energy analyser or other method is used, evidence must be available showing that it produces reliable results for individual N-nitrosamines.

The recommended limits of quantification are:

• below 1 μg/kg for each carcinogenic N-nitrosamine other than NSAR;
• no higher than 5 μg/kg for other N-nitrosamines;
• as low as possible for NSAR.

Investigations and reporting to EFSA

Member States and operators are also asked to investigate the factors that lead to high levels of N-nitrosamines in food and to gather information on measures to avoid or reduce their presence. The data collected must be sent to the European Food Safety Authority for compilation into a single database, in line with its Guidance on Standard Sample Description for Food and Feed and its specific reporting requirements.

For processed meat and other processed foods, operators should state whether nitrates or nitrites were used as food additives. Where the sum of the ten carcinogenic compounds is reported alongside individual levels, the sum must be the lower bound sum of the individual N-nitrosamines.

The recommendation matters because it standardises how a known carcinogen class is measured across the single market: comparable, low-detection data are the precondition for any future risk-management decision on cured meat, fish and alcoholic drinks, and for aligning official controls with industry self-monitoring.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 23 October 2026, 2026/2329 (official reference: Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/2329; ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reco/2026/2329/oj).