EU Begins Monitoring Chlorinated Paraffins in Food
Food businesses and regulators across the European Union will test for the industrial chemicals through 2029.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Nutrition
The European Commission has recommended that Member States and food businesses monitor chlorinated paraffins, a group of industrial chemicals, in food through 2029. The move follows a 2020 European Food Safety Authority opinion that found data too limited to assess dietary risk, and it applies across the European Union.
Why it matters
Chlorinated paraffins have been used since the 1930s in lubricants, plastics, rubber, sealants, and textiles, and they can reach food through the environment. Regulators say more occurrence data is needed before any health-based guidance value can be set, so this monitoring effort is meant to close that gap.
The recommendation rests on a 2020 European Food Safety Authority scientific opinion that could not complete a dietary exposure assessment for chlorinated paraffins due to insufficient data. The Commission's response is a tiered testing framework with specified thresholds, with results to be submitted to EFSA.
The players
European Commission
The executive body of the European Union, which issues recommendations on food safety monitoring across member states.
European Food Safety Authority
The EU agency that provides scientific risk assessments on food and feed safety, including contaminants such as chlorinated paraffins.
The details
Testing begins with measuring the sum of C10-C17 chlorinated paraffins, the group found most often in food, using GC-MS/MS or GC-LRMS. Samples that exceed the thresholds are then analyzed for all chlorinated paraffins, including the longer-chain C18-C30 compounds, using liquid chromatography or high-resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Analytical methods capable of detecting the full range are currently available at only a few expert laboratories, which is one reason EFSA has called for validated methods, reference materials, and more occurrence data.
Timeline
2020: EFSA published its scientific opinion finding insufficient data for chlorinated paraffin risk assessment.
November 3, 2026: The European Commission issued its monitoring recommendation.
2029: The monitoring recommendation period ends.
Health Landscape
Chlorinated paraffins are one of several industrial chemical groups that regulators have found difficult to assess because analytical methods and occurrence data lag behind their widespread use. This recommendation shifts the EU approach from documenting that gap to building the data needed for future dietary risk assessments.
The recommendation is aimed at regulators and food businesses, so no change in individual testing or food choices is required. Readers with questions about contaminants in their diet are best served by raising them with a physician or registered dietitian.
The takeaway
The monitoring effort is a step toward filling a long-standing data gap on chlorinated paraffins in food. Readers who want to understand dietary contaminants more generally can follow the Nutrition section for future updates.
What happens next
The monitoring recommendation runs through 2029, with results to be submitted to EFSA during that period.
Further reading
For broader context on what contaminants in everyday foods mean for diet choices, see the Nutrition section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Food-safety.
