On October 6, several large agricultural organizations in France, including the FNSEA and its affiliated groups such as AGPB, UNPT, AGPM, CBG, and FOP, criticized the government's plan to reduce the cadmium content in phosphate fertilizers by 2028 and 2030. The government intends to lower the maximum cadmium level in phosphate fertilizers to 40 milligrams per kilogram of phosphoric anhydride (P₂O₅) by 2028, and further reduce it to 20 milligrams per kilogram by 2030. This is significantly stricter than the current European regulation, which sets a limit of 60 milligrams, and the French national standard of 90 milligrams. The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses) recommended a limit of 20 milligrams as early as 2021. The agricultural groups, which represent wheat, potato, beet, corn, and oilseed producers, called the government’s proposed plan a "French over-transposition" of European regulations, meaning they believe France is applying the rules more strictly than necessary. They argue that the new standards could increase production costs and make them more reliant on a smaller number of fertilizer suppliers. As a result, the associations are urging the government to abandon its 2028 and 2030 targets and instead adopt the European standard of 60 milligrams as a reference. The government announced on October 2 that it plans to implement the 60 milligram threshold starting in early 2027, but it may adjust the timeline based on reports assessing the impact on the supply of fertilizers. A decree outlining the 2028 and 2030 targets, originally set to be published on October 5 by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, has been put out for public consultation by the Ministry of Agriculture. This consultation period will remain open until November 9, allowing stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed regulations.