Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/561 of 6 April 2022 on monitoring the presence of glycoalkaloids in potatoes and potato-derived products

HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION:

(1) Member States with the active involvement of food business operators should monitor glycoalkaloids α-solanine and α-chaconine in potatoes and potato products. If possible, the degradation products β- and γ- solanine and chaconine and the aglycon solanidine should also be analysed, in particular in processed potato products.

(2) To prevent enzymatic degradation of α-chaconine in particular when analysing raw potatoes (unpeeled/peeled), a solution of 1 % formic acid in methanol should be added to the potatoes in a ratio of 1:2 (volume:weight) when they are blended and homogenized before extraction and clean-up. The recommended methods of analysis are liquid chromatography with ultraviolet photodiode-array detection (LC-UV-DAD) or liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Other methods of analysis can be applied provided that evidence is available showing that they generate reliable results for individual glycoalkaloids. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for the determination of each glycoalkaloid should preferably be around 1 mg/kg and not be higher than 5 mg/kg.

(3) Member States, with the active involvement of food business operators, should carry out investigations to identify the factors leading to levels above the indicative level of 100 mg/kg as sum of α-solanine and α-chaconine in potatoes and processed potato products.

(4) Member States and food business operators should provide to EFSA, by 30 June of each year, the data for the previous year for compilation into one database in line with the requirements of EFSA’s Guidance on Standard Sample Description (SSD) for Food and Feed and EFSA’s additional specific reporting requirements (2). It is important to report for potatoes and processed potato products the variety and the size of potatoes (average weight of the potatoes, in particular for unpeeled potatoes), early potatoes or storage potatoes (i.e. mature and/or stored over a longer period of time), the place of sampling (producer, wholesale, retail) and if the potatoes were peeled or not (3