Nickel in food: new limits for cereals from 1 July 2026

Nickel is an element naturally present in the environment and, for this very reason, it can also be found in food.

Its presence, therefore, does not necessarily depend on occasional contamination or on improper handling of the product, but may also result from the natural occurrence of this element in the biosphere.

In recent years the issue has received growing attention at European level: the available scientific assessments have shown the need for closer control of dietary exposure to nickel, with particular regard to its effects on human health, especially in the most sensitive individuals.

For this reason, Regulation (EU) 2024/1987 amended Regulation (EU) 2023/915 and introduced, in Annex I, Section 3.6, maximum levels of nickel for several categories of food.

For most of the products concerned, the new limits have applied since 1 July 2025.

For cereals and some specific cereal categories, however, the regulation provides for a deferred application date: 1 July 2026.

From that date, the following maximum levels will therefore apply:

Point of Reg. (EU) 2023/915	Foodstuff	Maximum level of nickel
3.6.11.1	Cereals, excluding durum wheat, rice, husked rice, pseudocereals, millet and oats	0.80 mg/kg
3.6.11.2	Durum wheat and rice, excluding husked rice	1.5 mg/kg
3.6.11.3	Husked rice	2.0 mg/kg
3.6.11.4	Pseudocereals and millet	3.0 mg/kg
3.6.11.5	Oats	5.0 mg/kg

For oats, the 5.0 mg/kg limit applies to grains without the inedible husk.

For oat grains with the inedible husk, the regulation provides for a processing factor of 1.5, so the resulting maximum level is 7.5 mg/kg.

A transitional measure is also in place: products lawfully placed on the market before 1 July 2026 do not have to be withdrawn as a result of the new limits and may remain on sale until their date of minimum durability or expiry date. Products placed on the market after that date will instead have to comply with the maximum levels set for the different cereal categories.

For operators who purchase, process, market or import cereal raw materials, this update is a useful opportunity to review their control plans and consider adding nickel to the analyses scheduled for the matrices concerned.

Chemiservice remains available to support companies in identifying the matrices involved and in carrying out the necessary analyses.