The results are in, and Europe's food has again been deemed among the safest in the world.
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) latest Annual Report on Pesticide Residues contains findings from tests carried out in 2012 on nearly 79,000 samples and found that, overall, 98.3 per cent of these food products were within the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of pesticides permitted in the EU.
More pesticide residues exceeding the MRLs were found in food imported from countries outside the European Union (7.5 per cent) than in samples originating from EU and European Free Trade Association (1.4 per cent).
The EFSA report concludes that the presence of residues found in food in 2012 was unlikely to have a long-term effect on the health of consumers.
“Yet again the EFSA report shows a very high compliance rate – this is especially good news for consumers and for all involved stakeholders including regulators, farmers, and the industry,' said Jean-Charles Bocquet, director general of the ECPA. 'It confirms the continuous progress of the practices, demonstrates both the current high-level skill of pesticide users and the high level of food safety that we continue to benefit in Europe.
“The crop protection industry takes consumers’ concerns about pesticide residues and the multiple assessments of residues seriously,' he continued. 'Together with local partners, we have established projects focusing on training and advisory programmes to support the management of residues through the promotion of Integrated Pest Management principles and good agricultural practices.
“We will continue working with stakeholders in order to keep improving results on residue management and to foster consumers trust in food safety,” Bocquet concluded.
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