ADVICE OF THE SCIENTIFIC PANEL ON CONTAMINANTS IN THE FOOD CHAIN ON A REQUEST FROM THE COMMISSION RELATED TO RELEVANT CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS IN THE GROUP OF BROMINATED FLAME RETARDANTS FOR MONITORING IN FEED AND FOOD (Question No EFSA-Q-2005-244) Adopted by written procedure on 24 February 2006

Based on the analytical feasibility to measure the chemical compounds routinely in accredited laboratories, the production volumes, the occurrence of the chemical compounds in food and feed, their persistence in the environment and their toxicity, the inclusion of the following compounds in the core group of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in a European monitoring programme for feed and food is recommended: polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs): BDE congeners #28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, 183 and 209. hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD): total amount (isomer specific analysis of a limited number of samples and/or pools in case of significantly elevated levels or increasing trends). polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs): BB congener #153. Optionally, the following BFRs could be included in this monitoring programme: additional PBDE congeners decabromodiphenyl ethane hexabromobenzene bis (2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane