Government pesticide report highlights worth of buying produce assured by Red Tractor.
The UK Pesticide Residue Committee has released its report, ‘Pesticides Residues Monitoring’, on the pesticide levels on a range of food in the UK for the Second Quarter of 2005 today. It shows that over 97 per cent of fruit and vegetables sold in the UK has either no pesticide residue or has less than the legislated amount. It is also interesting to note that the only exceedences of the maximum residue levels came from imported fruit and vegetables.
According to the National Farmers Union, the report is “great news for the British public and highlights the effort British farmers make to meet the demanding Red Tractor standards. Consumers that look for this when purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables can be assured that it has been produced to the highest standards of traceability and meets the low pesticide levels demanded by the UK government.”
Today’s report mirrors data for 2003, which has only recently become available, that shows that 67 percent of samples tested by the Pesticide Residue Committee had no detectable residues, which rates Britain third in a group of 18 EU countries. Those with higher residues include Ireland (56 per cent), Belgium (53 per cent), Denmark (51 per cent), the Netherlands (42 per cent), and Germany (41 per cent).
NFU deputy president Peter Kendall, said: “Today’s report highlights the professionalism of British farmers and underlines the benefits of specific programmes like the Voluntary Initiative on Pesticides when it comes to implementing continual improvements in production standards.
“It also shows that as the British public stock up on fruit and vegetables in the lead up to Christmas, they can be confident that by looking for the Red Tractor logo and buying British their produce will be some of the best the EU has to offer.”
No comments yet