This week the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published the annual report of pesticide residues, based on the analysis of more than 67,000 samples taken by the different Member States of the EU and two countries from the EFTA, on the basis of European and national programmes for official control in 2009, and also assesses the exposure of European consumers to those residues through their diets.

The report reveals that the trend towards greater compliance with the legislation on phytosanitary residue content in food continues to be unstoppable, such that, 97.4 % of the samples analysed complied with these food safety standards (compared to 96.5% in 2008).

In addition, the Authority has assessed the exposure to the risks derived from the presence of these residues in the samples found to be positive, and concludes that in all cases the existence of long-term risk from their consumption can be rejected and that the risk of short-term consequences for health is unlikely.

This year the report has certain special features including the fact that it is the first report to be made following the total harmonisation of the Maximum Residues level (MRLs) in the EU; to permit a direct comparison with figures from 2006, in plant-based food from the coordinated programme, as the same foods were analysed; to be the result of the submission of data from Member States in a new and more complete format; to include animal-origin foods; and lastly, to include recommendations from the Authority for improving the task of guaranteeing food safety for European consumers.

Results at EU level

Some of the more significant data from the study are as follows:

• More than 67,000 samples taken from approximately 300 different types of food were analysed for pesticide residues.
• The analytic methods used by the Member State laboratories permitted the detection of more than 834 different pesticides.
• Only 1.2% of the samples analysed failed to comply with the Maximum Residues Levels (MRLs) of pesticides permitted for the food products in the EU. This is a significant improvement on the 2.2% of the previous year.
• 61.4% of the samples analysed did not contain any pesticide residues.
• The detection of quantities higher than the MRL was greater in the samples taken from food imported from third countries (6.9%) than in samples taken from the EU (1.5%), although 74% of the samples analysed are from Europe.
• Of the 1888 samples of baby food analysed, only 15 samples (0.8%) exceeded the legal limits. European legislation is very restrictive in this area and does not generally permit more than 0.01 mg/kg of any pesticide residue.
• The lowest percentage exceeding the legal limits was in foods of animal origin (0.3%)
• In organic products the MRLs were exceeded less frequently than in samples taken from conventionally produced food (e.g. 0.4% of the samples from organic fruit compared to 2.7 % in the case of conventional production). Nevertheless, in the EU there are no specific MRLs for organic products and the same levels used for other food are applied.

Results in Spain

A total of 1568 samples were analysed under this programme in Spain in 2009.

98.7% of the samples taken in Spain complied with the established MRLs. This percentage is higher than that of the European Union, and therefore Spain has better results.

Residues were found in 13 % of the 145 processed food samples but none of these exceeded the MRL and of the 143 samples of infant food analysed, 100% were OK, without any trace of residues.

This information can be consulted at:

http://www.aesan.msps.es/AESAN/docs/docs/control_oficial/planes_nacionales_especificos/Resultado_2009_plaguicidas.pdf

Risk assessment of the results obtained

The EFSA’s Pesticide Risk Assessment Peer Review Unit, which prepared the report for the third year, highlights that the presence of pesticide residues in foods, even in those cases in which the MRLs are exceeded, does not necessarily imply a food safety risk. This is thanks to the special process for establishing the MRL in the EU, and the MRLs should not be considered as toxicological limits.

To assess consumer risk, EFSA estimated chronic (long-term) exposure to pesticides from major foods that make up the diet of Europeans and acute (short-term) exposure for the ten types of products that were monitored in 2009 as part of the EU coordinated programme. In both cases, EFSA followed a conservative approach to estimate exposure to pesticides, that is, the worst case possible, considering vulnerable groups in the population including children, vegetarians… etc.

Further information is available in the full EFSA report at the following Internet address:

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/111108.htm