Regulations amending residue levels in products rejected

On September 18, 2024, the European Parliament rejected two Commission decisions allowing import tolerances for cyproconazole, spirodiclofen, benomyl, carbendazim and thiophanate-methyl in or on certain products.

In the draft regulations now rejected, the Commission proposed to maintain the MRLs of a large quantity of products above the relevant limit of determination or the default MRL value of 0,01 mg/kg based on MRLs established by the Codex Alimentarius, despite the fact that the active substances cyproconazole, spirodiclofen, benomyl, carbendazim and thiophanate-methyl are not authorized in the EU.

The European Parliament considers that products imported from non-EU countries must follow the same standards as products produced in the EU. In particular, the European Parliament requests the Commission to submit a new draft lowering all maximum residue levels to the limit of determination or the default value of 0,01 mg/kg for all uses and to refuse any requests for import tolerances.

In its resolutions, the European Parliament underlines that:

• Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 provides that (a) residues of plant protection products shall not have any harmful effect on human health, including that of vulnerable groups, or animal health, taking into account known cumulative and synergistic effects; and that (b) an active substance classified, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, as toxic for reproduction category 1A or 1B/ as mutagen category 1A or 1B/or if it has endocrine-disrupting properties -which are the cases of the active substances mentioned- , shall not be approved unless ‘residues of the active substance [...] concerned on food and feed do not exceed the default value [...] of 0,01 mg/kg.
  
• Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 provides that import tolerance is an MRL set for imported products when ‘the use of the active substance in a plant protection product on a given product is not authorised in the Community for reasons other than public health reasons for the specific product and specific use’.
  
• the practice of setting high MRLs is promoting a double standard between Union farmers and farmers in third countries, as the non-Union farmers may continue producing the foods concerned using the active substances mentioned and exporting them to the Union, which places Union farmers at a competitive disadvantage.
  
• the precautionary principle is one of the fundamental principles of the European Union.
  
• the Commission must protect the environment and European citizens on the basis of the available scientific information; however, the proposed MRLs do not protect the health of citizens in Europe, and they are therefore contrary to applicable legislation.
•  MRLs should not be set for active substances that are not approved in the European Union due to health concerns, which is the case of the active substances mentioned.

 An absolute majority of at least 359 MEPs was needed to reject the Commission’s decisions. In the case of cyproconazole and spirodiclofen, 522 MEPs voted in favour of the objection, 127 against and 28 abstained.  For the active substances benomyl, carbendazim and thiophanate-methyl, 516 MEPs voted in favour of the objection, 129 against and 27 abstained.