BVL: German produce 'still safer to eat'

Domestically grown potatoes, pears and carrots are the safest products available on the German market, according to new research published this week.

In its annual National Pesticide Residues in Food Report, Germany's Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) reported an overall fall in the number of cases where pesticide residue levels in food were higher than permitted.

While potatoes, pears and carrots were among a broad range of the 14,816 individual fruit and vegetable samples where zero or very few maximum residue levels (MRLs) were exceeded, the BVL did raise concerns over a higher proportion of illegal cases found in some vegetables, such as fresh herbs (10.4 per cent), peppers (6.5 per cent) and (5.9 per cent) for beans in pods.

The report, which monitored residue levels in fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as other food items, sold in the German market during 2010, also found that there had been a steady improvement in the safety of domestically grown fresh produce.

'The efforts of producers, industry and government to minimise pesticide residues seem to be having an impact,' commented BVL president Dr Helmut Tschiersky-Schoneburg.

While the number of cases of MRLs being breached on produce imported from other EU countries remained largely the same as in 2009, the incidence of MRL failings in non-EU imported produce also decreased, although it continued to be notably higher than for European supplies.

'In 2010, only 1.0 per cent of investigated products of German origin were found to exceed the relevant MRL,' the organisation said in a statement. 'The positive trend of previous years has continued. 'In 2008, investigators recorded 1.9 per cent of samples as exceeding maximum levels, and in 2009 it was 1.6 per cent of samples.'

MRL exceedance for products sourced from within the EU remained at 1.5 per cent of investigated samples, down from 3 per cent in 2008 but more or less in line with the figure for 2009.

For third country imports, a positive trend saw excessive residue levels found in 8 per cent of samples, compared with 8.6 per cent in 2009 and 9.1 per cent a year earlier.