EC to harmonise pesticide residue legislation
maximum residue levels for pesticides in products of plant and
animal origin. The proposal aims to consolidate and simplify
current legislation.
The European Commission has announced a proposal to harmonise maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides in products of plant and animal origin. The proposal aims to consolidate and simplify current legislation.
Current legislation on pesticide MRLs is piecemeal. MRLs were introduced in November 1976 when a Council Directive fixed MRLs for 43 active substances in selected fruits and vegetables, based on the best available data at the time.
These have gradually been reviewed, added to and replaced as more information and higher standards have been introduced. Pesticide legislation today is based on six Directives and their amendments, covering fruits and vegetables, cereals, animal products, plant products, infant food and processed products.
To date more than 17,000 Community MRLs have been set for various commodities involving 133 pesticide active substances. The Commission hopes the proposal will enter into force before January 2005, after a transitional phase-in period.
It will replace the first four Directives listed above with a single regulation. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will be responsible for risk assessment and the Commission will be responsible for risk management, by deciding on the setting of MRLs based on the opinion of the EFSA.
In all cases where there is no use of a pesticide on a commodity or when no data is available to demonstrate that residues do not endanger consumer health, no residues may be permitted at levels higher than 0.01 mg/kg, which the Commission says is an "enforceable default for zero".
Over 400 pesticides are to be withdrawn from the EU market from July 2003, some 386 of which currently have no EU MRLs. Of the 507 substances expected to remain on the market, 117 already have EU harmonised MRLs. The EFSA will be charged with proposing temporary EU MRLs for the other 390, based on existing national MRLs.
The Commission's 61-page proposal for a regulation on pesticide MRLs can be found on the website of the Official Journal.
