Ninety-seven per cent of food samples collected in the European Union are free of pesticide residues or contain traces that are within legal limits. The conclusion is part of EFSA’s latest annual report on pesticide residues in food, which analyses the results of almost 83,000 food samples from the 28 EU Member States – including Croatia for the first time – as well as Iceland and Norway.
Jose Tarazona, Head of EFSA’s Pesticides Unit, said: “The high compliance rates recorded for 2014 are in line with previous years, which means that the EU is continuing to protect consumers by controlling the presence of pesticide residues in food.
“Our annual report is a major undertaking that is rooted in the data we receive from Member States. It would not be possible without the commitment and expertise of our European partners, and we thank them for their contribution.”
Dr Tarazona added: “We are always looking at ways to improve the annual report – this year, for example, thanks to the efforts of the Member states we have significantly improved the harmonisation and integration of the data submitted to EFSA.
“This year’s report also contains suggestions that we believe could make pesticide control programmes more efficient.”
For the 2014 report, EFSA has made a number of changes in response to requests and comments from stakeholders. For example, the report now includes greater detail on organic products and baby food, a specific section on glyphosate, and more comparisons with results from previous years.
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