A new Euratom regulation on maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination in different types of foodstuffs following a nuclear accident or a radiological emergency entered into force on 9 February 2016.
The regulation, which was adopted by the Council of the European Union on 15 January 2016 and published in the EU’s Official Journal on 20 January, repeals three previous Euratom regulations on the same topic. According to the new regulation, in the event of a nuclear accident or a radiological emergency the European Commission has the right to issue regulations on contamination levels in foodstuffs without exceeding maximum levels set out in the new regulation. The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was established under the 1957 Euratom Treaty, which governs the civilian use of nuclear energy in the EU. Euratom is a separate legal entity from the EU, but it is governed by the EU’s institutions. The full text of the regulation is online.