The Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2012

This section has no associated Explanatory Memorandum

[F14.  Performance criteria of the instrumental method of analysisU.K.

(a)The detection limit for lead and cadmium must be equal to or lower than— 0,1 mg/litre for lead; 0,01 mg/litre for cadmium.

The detection limit is defined as the concentration of the element in the 4 % acetic acid solution, as referred to in paragraph 3(a) which gives a signal equal to twice the background noise of the instrument.

(b)The limit of quantification for lead and cadmium must be equal to or lower than— 0,2 mg/litre for lead; 0,02 mg/litre for cadmium.

(c)Recovery. The recovery of lead and cadmium added to the 4 % acetic acid solution, as referred to in point 3(a), must lie within 80-120 % of the added amount.

(d)Specificity. The instrumental method of analysis used must be free from matrix and spectral interferences.]