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EU agchem residue alerts increase
Jul. 31, 2008
EU warnings of food and feed containing illegal pesticide residues almost doubled in 2007 to 180, according to the latest annual report of the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). The increase was partly due to the implementation of new maximum residue limits (MRLs) and improved laboratory analysis, the European Commission's Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General says.
The RASFF allows quick exchange of information between EU member states via the Commission. The aim is to ensure coherent and simultaneous action by all EU member states to remove the identified food or feed products from the market. Pesticide residues accounted for 38 (or 4%) of the total 997 alert notifications, which apply when the product is on the market and rapid action is required. Residues accounted for 142 (or 7%) of the 2,014 information notifications, which mostly concern imports stopped at the EU border. Information notifications identify a risk, but do not require rapid action because the product has not reached the market or is no longer on the market.
All of the pesticide residue notifications concerned food of plant origin, with the exception of one notification for honey. A major proportion (16%) in 2007 was due to the detection of five unauthorised pesticides. One notable case concerned 28 notifications issued about the insecticide, isofenphos-methyl, in peppers in Spain, which led to dramatic consequences for the national pepper sector.
The increase in residue notifications was also due to new and lower MRLs becoming applicable for 20 pesticides during 2007. The routine practice of following the implementation of new MRLs with targeted sampling to ensure compliance usually leads to more findings of these pesticides in the year to follow, points out the report. In addition, crops on the market such as apples, oranges, frozen vegetables and potatoes will continue to contain residues at formerly authorised levels for more than a year after the use of pesticides has been discontinued, it adds.
There were 12 notifications of feed or food imports containing material from unauthorised genetically modified crops in 2007, up from nine in 2006. Of these, six related to imports of Dow AgroSciences/ DuPont's 59122 maize containing the unapproved 59132-8 maize line, four concerned Chinese rice products containing the Bt63 rice line, and two were for imports of US rice containing Bayer CropScience's unauthorised LLRICE601 line.
Source: RASFF
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