PhosAgro Welcomes European Commission Decision to Further Limit Maximum Levels of Cadmium Content in Foodstuffs

MOSCOW, Sept. 6, 2021  /PRNewswire/ -- PhosAgro welcomes the decision by the European Commission (EC) to further stiffen cadmium limits in a range of foodstuffs in the European Union.

Regulation 2021/1323 amending the annex to Regulation 1881/2006 has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The new document reduces by at least half the previously established maximum allowed concentration of cadmium in foodstuffs in the EU market. The expanded list of food products affected by the new restriction on cadmium content includes 66 items.

This decision was made following an analysis of the long-term data on cadmium content in foodstuffs in the EU, together with an increasing array of data confirming the negative impact of this toxic substance on health, including the development of serious diseases such as cancer.

In the preamble to the regulation, the EC refers to the conclusion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that cadmium accumulates in the body over time and may cause renal dysfunction. The EFSA also found that a number of subgroups, and especially children, are at risk of exceeding the tolerable intake of cadmium by about twofold.

Irina Bokova, the Chair of PhosAgro's Sustainable Development Committee, said: "Limiting toxic elements such as cadmium in food is a necessary step towards reducing risks to human health and the environment, and to ensuring sustainable agricultural development. At PhosAgro, we are confident that the updated regulation is a positive step for the entire industry on the path to accomplishing our global goals."

PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: "PhosAgro pays particular attention to ESG issues. A key element of the Company's strategy to 2025 is sustainability, which entails PhosAgro's contribution to solving global issues, including ensuring food security and improving the health of the world's population".

"We are pleased to see that the global community and the agricultural industry are paying increasing attention to issues of food security and human health protection, which has resulted in the EU's restriction on cadmium and other harmful impurities in food and its authorisation of voluntary eco-labelling of fertilizers that do not contain concentrations of cadmium or other heavy metals that are hazardous to human health and soils.

"PhosAgro's main objective is to ensure that farmers can access these products. PhosAgro fertilizers easily meet the most stringent environmental and quality requirements for applying the EU green label. This enables European agricultural producers to make an informed choice in favour of eco-efficient mineral fertilizers so that the crops they grow and the food they produce are safe for consumers."

The text of the decisions of the European Parliament and the European Council can be found here.

About PhosAgro

PhosAgro (www.phosagro.com) is one of the world's leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers in terms of production volumes of phosphate-based fertilizers and high-grade phosphate rock with a P₂O₅ content of 39% and higher. PhosAgro's environmentally friendly fertilizers stand out for their high efficiency, and they do not lead to the contamination of soils with heavy metals.

The Company is the largest phosphate-based fertilizer producer in Europe (by total combined capacity for DAP/MAP/NP/NPK/NPS), the largest producer of high-grade phosphate rock with a P₂O₅ content of 39%, a top-three producer of MAP/DAP globally, one of the leading producers of feed phosphates (MCP) in Europe, and the only producer in Russia, and Russia's only producer of nepheline concentrate (according to the RAFP).

PhosAgro's main products include phosphate rock, more than 50 grades of fertilizers, feed phosphates, ammonia, and sodium tripolyphosphate, which are used by customers in 102 countries spanning all of the world's inhabited continents. The Company's priority markets outside of Russia and the CIS are Latin America, Europe and Asia.

PhosAgro's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, and global depositary receipts (GDRs) for shares trade on the London Stock Exchange (under the ticker PHOR). Since 1 June 2016, the Company's GDRs have been included in the MSCI Russia and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes.