import restrictions on soy sauce in march 2001 thailand on behalf of asean raised concerns with an ec regulation which set new maximum levels for lead cadmium mercury and 3-mpcd in foodstuffs. asean believed that the ec maximum level of 3-mcpd in soy sauce was too low to be practicable and constituted an unnecessary barrier to trade. asean asked the european communities to provide technical information in order to reach a mutually satisfactory solution. korea asked to be informed about the outcome of bilateral consultations between the european communities and thailand. the european communities stated that several of its member states had detected high levels of 3-mcpd in samples of soy sauce. recent toxicological studies had indicated that the substance acted as a non-genotoxic carcinogen in vivo. the european communities believed that maximum levels should be set to encourage good manufacturing practices and to protect the health of consumers. a proposed commission regulation set such limits and was currently under examination. thailand had been informed of the 3-mcpd levels reported in soy sauce from one manufacturer but had not responded. in july 2001 the european communities informed the committee that the scientific committee of food had recently revised its opinion on 3-mcpd in light of new toxicological information concluding that 3-mcpd was not genotoxic in humans. a tolerable daily intake had been set at 2 g per kg of body weight. a maximum level for 3-mcpd to take effect in april 2002 had been set at 0.02 mg kg for both hydrolized vegetable protein and soy sauce. however in light of the new scientific opinion the european communities would consider whether the current maximum level remained appropriate. the united states indicated that the joint fao who expert committee on food additives jecfa had re-evaluated the safety of chlorinated propanols and concluded that a person should not consume more than 120 mg day of these contaminants. the codex representative added that the need to establish maximum levels for these contaminants would be considered by jecfa in march 2002. in october 2001 thailand indicated that it had taken measures to establish maximum 3-mcpd limits and to modify production processes to lower rates of contamination its industry expected to be able to meet a 1 mg kg limit within one year. jecfa had set a provisional maximum daily threshold level at 2 micrograms kg of body weight per day. based on this limit for a person of 50 kg bodyweight a safe daily consumption of u to 10 g should be allowable. however thailand noted that the limits applied by members differed widely. in march 2002 the european communities reported that the scientific committee had re-evaluated the potential toxicity of 3-mcpd and had concluded that the risks were not as high as initially believed. a full evaluation of the toxicity of 3-mcpd was underway pending receipt of additional information in particular regarding exposure levels. the results of this study were expected for july 2002 at which time the ec requirement would be re-examined in light of the results of this study as well as of the jecfa review. the representative of codex noted that the codex committee on food additives had the previous week discussed the subject of chloropropanols substances which could occur in hydrolized vegetable proteins and soy sauces. jecfa had determined that the level of chloropropanols could be controlled if the levels of 3-mcpd were limited and had developed recommended daily intake levels. on this basis the food additives committee was proceeding to develo maximum residue levels for 3-mcpd for commodities of major trade interest. in june 2002 the european communities confirmed that 3-mcpd had been re-evaluated and found to be carcinogenic but not genotoxic so the alara as low as reasonably achieveable principle would no longer be applied. however the european communities was seeking the necessary informatio