FORMALDEHYDE
Occurrence
Formaldehyde is commonly found in low levels in the environment because it is used on a large scale in industry.
Formaldehyde occurs naturally in many common foods. It is formed during combustion and is therefore found in automobile exhaust, cigarette smoke and cooking odours, for example.
Formaldehyde is found in low levels in cured tobacco, but increases both during grinding and preparation processes in Swedish snus production. The levels in Swedish snus are significantly lower than in fruit, for example.
Health
Formaldehyde has been classified by WHO as carcinogenic.
Formaldehyde is formed in the body as part of normal metabolism.
Swedish snus and foodstuffs
100 g of pears contain 4,900 micrograms of formaldehyde, which is equivalent to the contents in 32 (x) 24 g cans of Swedish snus.
Limit values
There are no national or EU legal limits for formaldehyde, either in food or in smoke-free tobacco products. Formaldehyde was assigned a GOTHIATEK limit in 2016.
