Finland finds high level of pesticide contamination in foods

In 2004, Finland's food regulator found that about five per cent of such products had a higher level of pesticide residues that is allowed in the EU. The level is about the same as in previousyears, the country's National Food Agency (NFA) said in publishing the statistics this week.

Last year 2,171 samples of products of vegetable origin were analysed for the presence of 199 pesticides. Of the samples, 1,584 were fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, 137 were cereals, and 387 were processed foods.

Products originating from outside the EU made up 43 per cent of the samples. The rest were from Finland and other EU member states.

Almost half of the samples contained pesticides residues. A total of 98 products out of the 2171 analysed were found to have residues over the allowable limits. A total of 60 of the products werefrom third countries, 36 were from other EU countries and two originated in Finland.

The total numbers include 63 enforcement samples collected as follow-ups on previous violations of the law.

Pesticides residues were found in 976 samples (45 per cent), but the maximum level was exceeded in 4.6 per cent of the samples. Two thirds of fruit samples, half of cereal samples, one-third ofvegetable samples and one-fifth of samples of processed products contained detectable residues of pesticides.

About 19 per cent of products from Finland had detectable levels of pesticides. About 50 per cent of products from other EU states and 52 per cent of the samples from non-EU countries haddetectable levels of pesticides.

The NFA said it initiated legal action against the distributor or manufacturer of each product found to have illegal levels of pesticides. The NFA monitoring programme focuses on products essentialto the diet. In addition, priorities are set according to known residue problems.

Last year the agency carried out a special survey of glyphosate residues in domestic and imported cereals. Municipal health inspectors collected domestic samples from wholesalers, packingcompanies, retail shops and farms. Customs officers took samples of imported products at wholesalers.

Glyphosate was found in two thirds of the samples of imported cereals but not in any of the domestic cereals samples.

The NFA found residues of 95 different pesticides in the fruit and vegetables tested. The maximum limits for 28 of the pesticides were exceeded. The NFA found the residues of six differentpesticides in cereals.

Two domestic products were found to be in excess of the maximum residue levels set by EU for endosulphane in strawberries and dimethoate in raspberries.

The regulator found endosulphane had been used in the disinfection of an empty greenhouse prior to the crop season, while dimethoate had been applied on raspberries in compliance with outdatedinstructions.

The EU's Plant Protection Products Directive (91/414/EEC) came into force on 26 July 1993. and is implemented in the UK by the Plant Protection Products Regulations 2003.

The legislation harmonises the bloc's procedures for authorising chemicals and other substances used in plant agriculture production. The directive also established a list of substances that havebeen shown to be without unacceptable risk to people or the environment and that may be used.

Member states can only authorise the marketing and use of plant protection products after an active substance is listed, except in cases where transitional arrangements apply.