Pork contains safe levels of pesticide residue finds EFSA study

More than 97% of swine meat samples tested were free from detectable pesticide residues, according to the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) 2013 annual report on their levels in food.

The full report contained results from almost 81,000 food samples from 27 EU member states, as well as Norway and Iceland.

Each country carried out two monitoring programmes for the report, one national programme specific to that country, and an EU-coordinated programme, where the same ‘basket’ of food products was monitored. The EU programme tested more than 11,500 samples, in 12 categories, including pork.

From the samples of swine meat tested, 735 were free of detectable residues (97.6%), while four samples contained multiple (two) residues (0.53%), and 14 contained single residues (1.85%) – and had the lowest levels of residues out of all the 12 categories tested.

The programme covered a total of 209 pesticides, 191 in food of plant origin and 52 in food of animal origin.