Search

In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the applicant LLG Sachsen‐Anhalt, Dez. Pflanzenschutz submitted a request to the competent national authority in Germany to modify the existing maximum residue levels (MRLs) for copper compounds in herbs and edible flowers. The data submitted in support of the request were found sufficient to derive an MRL proposal of 150 mg/kg, confirming the MRL proposal of the MRL review, for copper compounds in herbs and edible flowers in support of the intended indoor use. Based on the risk assessment results, EFSA concluded that the long‐term intake of copper residues resulting from the intended and existing uses, natural background levels and monitoring levels might present a risk to consumer health. Although residues in herbs and edible flowers are minor contributors to the overall consumer exposure, a risk management decision has to be taken whether it is appropriate to increase the existing MRLs for these crops, given that a potential consumer intake concern could not be excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, Germany, hereafter referred to as the evaluating Member State (EMS), compiled an application to set an MRL for copper compounds in wild game. Since the default MRL of 0.01 × mg/kg would not be sufficient to cover the natural background level of copper compounds in wild game, Germany proposed to set an MRL of 4 mg/kg. Germany drafted an evaluation report in accordance with Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, which was submitted to the European Commission and forwarded to EFSA. According to EFSA the data sufficient to derive an MRL proposal of 4 mg/kg for copper in order to cover the natural background levels of copper in wild game. Adequate analytical enforcement methods are available to control the residues of total copper on the wild game. Since the contribution of the proposed MRL to the total consumer exposure to copper is negligible (0.7 % of the ADI, IE adult), EFSA recommends the setting of an MRL of 4 mg/kg for copper compounds in wild game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A spring from a former copper shale mine in the area of Mansfelder Land, Germany, shows extremely high transition metal ion concentrations, i.e. 40mM ZnII, 208μM CuII, 61μM AsV, and 25μM CdII. This makes it a challenging habitat for living organisms as they have to cope with metal ion concentrations that by far exceed the values usually observed in spring water. One of the surviving species found is the aquatic fungus Heliscus lugdunensis (teleomorph: Nectria lugdunensis). Investigation of its redox related heavy metal tolerance revealed the presence of small thiol containing compounds as well as a small metallothionein, Neclu_MT1 (MT1_NECLU: P84865). While CdII-induction of metallothioneins is observed in many species, the fact that exclusively CdII, but not ZnII, CuI, AsIII or oxidative stress can induce Neclu_MT1 protein synthesis is unparalleled. To complement the physiological studies performed in the fungus H. lugdunensis, the CdII and ZnII binding characteristics of the recombinantly expressed protein were spectroscopically analysed in vitro aiming to demonstrate the observed CdII specificity also on the protein level. Stoichiometric analyses of the recombinant protein in combination with photospectrometric metal ion titrations and 113Cd-NMR experiments reveal that metal ion binding capacities and consequently the structures formed at physiological Neclu_MT1 concentrations differ from each other. Concluding, we describe the first solely CdII-inducible metallothionein, Neclu_MT1, from H. lugdunensis, featuring a difference in the structure of the CdII versus the ZnII metalated protein in a physiologically relevant concentration range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facility for positron annihilation induced Auger electron spectroscopy (PAES) was built up at the slow positron beam of the Technical University of Munich. The positron beam (intensity 104 e+/s, energy some 10 eV) is magnetically guided to the analysis chamber and then electrically focused onto the sample. Released Auger electrons are detected by an electrostatic hemispherical energy analyser with an energy resolution of about 3 eV. First measurements on annealed copper are presented and compared to conventional AES. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]