Professor Vaughan Hattingh representing the South African citrus and deciduous industries was in the UK last week for discussions with the Fresh Produce Consortium and Pesticides Safety Directorate on the background to the legislative problems surrounding pesticides and most particularly the proposed new Maximum Residue Levels legislation.

"They have done a great deal of work on all the pesticides being used in South Africa together with the status that the residues have in the current and proposed legislation," reported FPC ceo Doug Henderson. "This exercise will act as a most useful guide for importers and export countries on the work that has now to be undertaken to ensure that we remain in conformity with the regulations.

"Not only has it helped to clarify the work programme, it has also helped to clarify the critical changes that we wish to see introduced into the legislation.

"We are drafting a further explanatory paper for members on this subject that we hope will provide clear guidelines on the action to be taken by both retailers and importers."

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