Pesticide residues in food

Foodstuffs in Germany are only so-called in very small quantities agrochemicals according to the brief summary of the national report "Pesticide residues in food 2018", which the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has now published. According to the BVL, a total of 2018 risk-oriented food samples were tested for pesticide residues in the laboratories of the federal states in 19.611. Risk-oriented means that foods that have been conspicuous in the past are checked more frequently and with a larger number of samples. The most frequently examined foods were strawberries (777 samples), milk and milk products (720 samples), apples (614 samples), peppers/chillies (579 samples), table grapes (556 samples) and asparagus (512 samples). The range of investigations included 1.016 active substances.

Products from domestic production and the European Union were generally less contaminated than imports from outside the EU. In 2018, only 1,3 percent of the tested products from Germany exceeded the maximum residue levels. Food from other EU countries had a similarly low level of contamination. Here the rate of violations was 1,5 percent.

For imported food from non-EU countries, the exceedances in 2018 were 8,8 percent. The number has been increasing since 2015. A differentiated analysis of the data shows, however, that most foods from non-EU countries such as apples, potatoes, tomatoes, orange juice and all animal foods examined are only slightly contaminated and show no or only a few exceedances of the maximum residue level. Quotas of over 15 percent and more are usually only found for a few products such as sweet peppers, beans with pods, fresh herbs and aubergines.

As in previous years, organically grown food consistently has far fewer residues of pesticides than conventionally grown food. In the case of organic food, the proportion of samples with residues above the maximum levels has further decreased (to 0,8 percent).

Particularly strict regulations and very low maximum levels of pesticide residues apply to food for infants and young children. The proportion of samples in food for infants and young children in which residues were detected increased slightly in 2018 compared to the previous year to 13,4 percent. The element copper accounts for a large proportion of these samples. On the other hand, the rate of violations has fallen continuously in recent years – to 1,2 percent in 2018 (2017: 1,5 percent, 2016: 4,3 percent). The detection of excessive residues does not necessarily have to be caused by the use of plant protection products, as other entry routes are also possible.

Exceeding a maximum level is not synonymous with a health risk for consumers. The maximum residue level refers only to the amount of residues that must not be exceeded when the plant protection product is used properly.

Rudiger Lobitz www.bzfe.de