Publication of EFSA's annual report on pesticide residues in foodstuffs

pesticide application

On 26 April 2023, EFSA published its 2021 report on official controls of pesticide residues in food.

 

On 26 April 2023, in accordance with European legislation, EFSA published an annual report assessing the levels of pesticide residues in foodstuffs on the European market.

 

In 2021, out of 87,863 samples reported, 3,464 contained pesticide residues exceeding their respective MRLs (3.9%). The MRL exceedance rate in 2020 was 5.1%. When the uncertainty of the measurements is taken into account, 2,207 samples were deemed to be non-compliant (2.5%), less than in 2020 (3.6%)

 

The pesticides quantified in more than 100 samples and for which a quantification rate greater than 10% was reported were: copper compounds (78.3%), mercury (20.4%), bromide ion (20.2%), fosetyl (17.2%), chlorate (12.0%), chlordecone (11.2%), dithiocarbamates (10.8%) and ethylene oxide (10.2%). The pesticides for which the MRL was exceeded by more than 1% were: ethylene oxide (6.6%), dithiocarbamates (1.2%) and copper compounds (1.0%).

 

YOUR PLUS: AGROLAB LUFA GmbH offers all these analyses as part of a complete analytical package, either through different screenings adapted to each food category (fruit and vegetables, cereals, oils, etc.) or through specific determinations (dithiocarbamates, ethylene oxide, copper, bromide, etc.). Your sales manager or account manager will be happy to provide you with any information you may require.

 

Author: Serge Campagne (AGROLAB France)    Translation: Dr. Frank Mörsberger (AGROLAB GmbH)