Abstract:

Pollutant control is an important technical means to improve the quality of plant-based foods. To understand the regulatory requirements of the United States for contaminants in imported plant-based foods, this article interpreted the document issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): “Industry Guidelines: Action Levels for Toxic or Hazardous Substances in Human Food and Animal Feed”. The management requirements for six highly toxic pesticides and aflatoxin were mainly sorted out. By comparing with relevant standards in China, it was found that there are two regulations in China and the United States that have significant differences. One is the limit of aflatoxin. The US guidelines stipulate that the action level is 20 μg·kg^-1, while the limit range in China is 5-20 μg·kg^-1. One is pesticide residues. The United States has restrictions on pesticide residues in popcorn, while China has not yet set such limits. The limit of aflatoxin in domestic lotus seeds is 10 μg·kg^-1. However, due to moisture exposure during harvesting or storage and transportation, they are prone to mold, and the export risk is relatively high. This risk can be reduced by strengthening quality control and reinforcing standards. For instance, popcorn intended for export can avoid the risk of spot checks by the United States through pre-inspection of pesticide residues. The innovative study in this article helps enterprises predict the risks of food exports and take control measures to improve the compliance of agricultural products exported to the United States.

Key words: plant-based foods, toxic substance, lotus seeds, popcorn, aflatoxin, pesticide residue, export risk