The Project

Background

Addressing OTA contamination in coffee

Drying parchment - Kenya

In the early 1990s European Union authorities initiated a programme for the harmonization of regulations relating to mycotoxins in foodstuffs - including the setting of maximum limits for ochratoxin A (OTA) in coffee. This concern over the level of OTA in various foodstuffs, and interest in the problem of OTA contamination in coffee in particular, prompted a reaction from various stakeholders throughout the coffee business.

The European coffee industry, through the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), conducted a pilot study (1996-1998) on the occurrence of OTA in coffee, in conjunction with a programme monitoring green coffee imports into Europe. This investigated coffee production systems, fungal development and OTA occurrence in six countries: Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Venezuela.

The global "Enhancement of Coffee Quality through the Prevention of Mould Formation" project developed out of the initial pilot study, and was specifically designed to address the concerns expressed by the European authorities at levels of ochratoxin A in green coffee beans. The European Commission (EC) wanted to introduce physical limits on the levels of OTA permitted in coffee entering European ports. However, as a result of the development of the global project, the Commission agreed to an initial three-year moratorium before deciding on whether to impose regulatory limits or not.

Broad consensus throughout the coffee sector supported the development and implementation of such a project. Key stakeholders in the coffee industry, and bodies concerned with international food safety, noted that financing a physical control mechanism for OTA based at ports themselves would be far more expensive, and far less effective, than financing a project to investigate prevention measures in selected countries of origin.

Measuring moisture content in coffee sacks - Côte d'Ivoire

Similarly, producing countries were concerned that the introduction of limits of OTA on coffee imports could entail a massive increase in rejection rates of shipments, with consequent negative economic impacts. According to projections by the European Coffee Federation, a maximum limit of 5ppb on green coffee could mean an average rejection rate of traded lots of around 7%, and up to 18% for some African producers. The governments of coffee-producing countries therefore encouraged the development of a project that would build their capacities to reduce OTA contamination in coffee.

The project was formulated with the collaboration of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Coffee Organization (ICO) and the European coffee industry. After approval by the ICO the project proposal was submitted to the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) for funding. Financing was provided by the CFC (US$2,586,000), with co-financing from the Government of The Netherlands (US$1,500,000), and the European coffee industry (US$367,000). Counterpart contributions from project implementing institutions total US$1,789,000.

The Food Quality and Standards Service (AGNS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN was selected as the Project Executing Agency (PEA), and coordinated implementation of the project globally in seven countries.

Project partners: The following institutions have been, or are currently, involved in implementing the global project: Asociacion Nacional de Exportadores de Café (ANECAFE) Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) Centro Nacional de Investigaciones de Café (CENICAFE) Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA) Coffee Board of India (CBI) Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA) Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Minas Gerais (EPAMIG) Indonesian Coffee Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI) Instituto Adolfo Lutz (IAL) Kenyan Coffee Research Foundation (CRF) Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA) / Laboratório de Controle de Qualidade de Segurança Alimentar (LACQSA) Ugandan Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) University of Surrey, UK For links and contact information please go to Project Partners.

In addition to the global project, a European Coffee Cooperation Taskforce on OTA (representing the entire European coffee sector and several scientific bodies) was set up to provide information to the EC on developments relating to OTA in coffee. Discussions at the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures also fed into the ongoing deliberations within the EC on the setting of regulatory limits for OTA in roasted and soluble coffee.¹

Once project agreements between all parties were concluded, formal project activities commenced in 2001. The project finished in 2005, with a final project meeting and dissemination of results taking place at the 2^nd World Coffee Conference in Salvador, Brazil, in September 2005.

¹ The EU is issuing legislation on OTA in coffee, which comes into effect from 1 April 2005: