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Formaldehyde

In the body: no agency opinion we hold names an effect at the amounts found in food, so it is shown for context, not rated.

Not rated by dose: a flag on one reviewed food, Maple syrup.

Background. Shown, not scored: no dose basis at normal intake, a classification rather than a risk, or legal limits only.

All hazards

The reference value and where it comes from

  • The agency’s figureno agency dose value
  • Basisno health-based reference opened: CFIA reports 'paraformaldehyde (as formaldehyde)' residues in maple syrup; the 2.0 mg/kg figure quoted by Lagacé 2003 is a legal tolerance for a pesticide residue; untreated maple syrup contains formaldehyde of its own
  • Source Lagace 2003

Reviewed foods that carry it

1 reviewed food carries it; none is rated by dose.

How often you can eat it

No food here is rated by dose. Each line says why it’s listed: a flag for the people the source names, advice on handling it, or context.

Flags and context, not rated by dose

  • Maple syrup

    Context

    9.7 µg
    per serving

    CFIA chemical residue monitoring (2016–2023) · grade A

    How it’s rated

    Context only (never scored: no health-based limit was opened). A pesticide-residue positive here is not the same as use: untreated Quebec maple syrup carries formaldehyde of its own, averages 0.18 mg/kg (2000) and 0.28 mg/kg (2001) in 300 authentic samples with maxima of 1.04 and 1.54 mg/kg (Lagacé 2003), against CFIA's positives-only mean of 0.399 µg/g (equal to mg/kg) and maximum 1.32. The CFIA positives sit inside the natural range, and heat treatment of syrup raises formaldehyde further.

    Intake: one 80 g serving a day (HC TRA U.14) · Level in the food: 0.122 µg/g (lower bound mean over all tests (paraformaldehyde reported as formaldehyde), pooled 2016-17 to 2022-23: 0.122 µg/g; mean of positives 0.399; max 1.32, n = 563)

    Measured on: CFIA NCRMP, domestic maple syrup, pesticide residue 'Paraformaldehyde (as formaldehyde)', 7 annexes 2016-17 to 2022-23: 563 tests, 172 positives, 0 violations; lowest positive 0.2 µg/g; imported 26 tests, 12 positives, mean of positives 0.22-0.39

Sources