The latest European Union report on pesticide residues in food

Pursuant to Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) must draw up an annual report assessing the pesticide residue levels in foods on the European market, based on the information provided by the Member States.

This annual report must include the following information: (i) an analysis of the results of the controls provided for in Regulation (EC) No 396/2005; (ii) a statement of the possible reasons why the Maximum Residues Levels (MRLs) were exceeded, together with any appropriate observations regarding risk management options; (iii) an analysis of chronic and acute risks to the health of consumers from pesticide residues; and (iv) an assessment of consumer exposure to pesticide residues and any other relevant available information.

Last April 23, 2024, the EFSA published the 2022 EU report on pesticide residues as required by Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. The main findings identified in this report are the following:

EU-coordinated multiannual control program: The 12 food products selected were apples, strawberries, peaches (including nectarines and similar hybrids), wine (red or white), lettuces, head cabbages, tomatoes, spinaches, oat grain, barley grain, cow's milk and swine fat. 98.4% of the samples collected were found to be within the legal limits – in particular, 51.4% were free of quantifiable levels of residues and 47% contained one or more residues in concentrations below or equal to MRLs-. MRLs were exceeded in 1.6% of samples, and 0.9% of the samples were found to be non-compliant when taking into account measurement uncertainty. As to the origin of the samples, 66.7% were domestic, 22% were from other reporting country, 7.7% from third countries and 3.6% were of unknown origin.

The conclusion is that these results do not differ significantly from the results obtained in 2021, with the exception of the domestic samples that increased from 53.3% in 2021 to 66.7% in 2022 and for the import control from third countries that decreased from 19.6% in 2021 to 7.7% in 2022.

National programs (which covers both the EU-coordinated multiannual program and the national control programs): in total, 96.3% of the samples analyzed were found to be within the legal limits. MRLs were exceeded in 3.7% of the samples. In general terms, the results were similar to those of the previous year.

EFSA carried out a dietary risk assessment to show how probable is that consumers will be exposed to a quantity of residues above a certain safety threshold. EFSA concluded that there is a low risk to consumer health from the estimated exposure to pesticide residues in the foods tested.