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AIBI aisbl - International Association of Plant Bakers

AIBI

The Association is a non-profit making organisation whose main purpose is to represent, promote and project the interests of plant bakers in Europe and beyond as appropriate.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Oliver Schenk (Member of the European Parliament) and European Flour Millers

5 Dec 2024 · Food Security in the EU (Bread Initiative)

Response to Commission Reg. (EU) on the application of control & mitigation measures to reduce the presence of acrylamide in food

5 Jul 2017

AIBI, the International Association of Plant Bakers, wishes to thank the European Commission for the opportunity to comment on the draft regulation on mitigation measures to reduce the presence of acrylamide in food. 38 million of tons of bread are produced In Europe every year. The European bread market is characterized by a huge diversity and variety of bread (GIRA Report 2016), which forms part of Europe’s food heritage ( e.g. UNESCO immaterial award of German bread¬). Bread contains normally a low and very low level of acrylamide. The latest draft proposal submitted to the public consultation is welcomed in general by large bakers as it seeks to strive an acceptable balance between consumer protection and acrylamide mitigation measures. However, the Commission’s indication that it will set “limits” or even legal maximum levels for acrylamide in certain foods (Recital 15) is considered as a critical step by large bakers, as it could reduce market availability of traditional bread varieties, which are highly appreciated by consumers. AIBI welcomes in principle, the definition of benchmark levels and the reference to the ALARA principle (recital 10). However, AIBI members are worried about the lowering of the benchmark levels in Annex IV for bread as we fear that some traditional bread varieties may not be marketed anymore. In this context, it becomes obvious that the present two bread categories are too simplistic to reflect the large diversity of bread in a meaningful and representative manner. AIBI therefore proposes to establish more bread categories, which provide a more accurate and representative categorization of traditional varieties of bread and to discuss this approach transparently and openly with the European Commission and other stakeholders. The measurement uncertainty and variation of analytical methods for acrylamide in bread should clearly be taken into account and cannot simply disregarded as indicated on page 19 (II Frequency of sampling – point 5). AIBI is also missing a clear definition and distinction between food business operators in Article 2. AIBI looks forward to continuing collaborating with the European Commission on this important topic. We thank you very much in advance for taking our comments into consideration.”
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