Nitrites, these additives which allow better preservation of food, will be removed from kibbles for dogs and cats. If these decisions generally come from the European Commission, this time, it is the producers themselves who are at the origin of this approach.
“In 2021, they withdrew their request [to use this additive] under the category of “technological additives” and the “preservative” functional group,” the European Commission explains to Le Figaro. However, the re-evaluation of nitrites by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was still ongoing. As a result, last June, this request for withdrawal led to the cessation of “the provisional authorization of this additive for dogs and cats only”.
Nitrites will therefore be gradually removed from the diet of these animals. The Commission, however, adopted “transitional measures which allow the placing on the market of existing stocks of additive until July 6, 2024”. “Pre-mixtures containing the additive” will be authorized until October 6, 2024 “and petfood containing the additive until July 6, 2025”. The European Commission also recalls that these measures were taken “at the request of the manufacturer” “and not in the context of proven safety risks”.
Also read: Can nitrites present in cold meats make you diabetic?
But for Richard Ramos, MoDem deputy for the 6th constituency of Loiret who tabled a bill in favor of “banning the marketing of nitrite”, “the situation is completely ludicrous”. “This ban on animals is based on the same studies as for human food,” he insists. The elected official refers to the Anses report published in July 2022 reporting “a positive association between exposure to nitrates and/or nitrites via processed meat and the risk of colorectal cancer”. The WHO also considers that “each 50 gram serving of cold meats consumed every day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%”.
For their part, charcuterie professionals emphasize that nitrite protects against listeriosis, salmonella and even botulism. Last October, the Commission set new rules for the use of nitrites by lowering the authorized thresholds. “I now call on the food industry to quickly implement these scientific rules and, where possible, to reduce them further in order to protect the health of citizens,” then called on Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, responsible for the health and food safety.
Richard Ramos now relies on the President of the Republic. The elected official sent him a letter on Friday, to which he added a bag of kibble for Nemo, Emmanuel Macron’s dog. “We protect our small animals more than human beings,” laments the MP. “There are no admissible daily doses for a product that causes cancer,” he says, “it’s not sugar, salt or fat.”
