Nitrate monitoring Program in plant-based foods for 2024.

This Montenegrin Nitrate monitoring Program in plant-based foods for the year 2024 specifies the monitoring operators, the type of testing and sampling-the number of samples, the time and place of sampling for the following types of products: spinach Spinacia oleracea: fresh, canned, deep-frozen or frozen; fresh lettuce Lactuca sativa L. in protected and open space; iceberg lettuce (including Grazer Krauthäuptl type lettuce) in protected and open space; rocket Eruca sativa, Diplotaxis sp., Brassica tenuifolia, Sisymbrium tenuifolium and processed cereal-based foods and baby foods intended for infants and young children for the purpose of monitoring nitrate levels. Nitrates are contaminants characterized by high water solubility and mobility in the environment, and leafy vegetables in particular (lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach, rocket) are the main source of nitrates in the human diet. The accumulation of nitrates is influenced by the following factors: the availability of nitrogen to plants, the quantity, type, source and time of application of plant nutrients, light, water regime, temperature, plant species, growth and development phase and other ecological factors (CO2 content in the atmosphere, soil type, presence of herbicides, availability of certain essential elements to plants, etc.), harvest time, vegetable growing conditions (open or protected space).
This text further transposes the provisions contained in Annex 1 (point 6.1) of the Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006.