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EU Moves to Standardise Pesticide Residue Limits |
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| BELGIUM: December 16, 2004 | ||
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BRUSSELS - Plans to standardise the European Union's widely varying limits for pesticides found in food took a step forward on Wednesday after EU lawmakers agreed to back plans for uniform rules across the 25-nation bloc.
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Up to now, national governments have set residue limits on their own territory, with different rules in the member states. Over the next 18 months, the European Commission will compile a list of crops for which ceilings should be set, assess all national levels and select the most appropriate ones for EU use, as well as identify pesticides where they are not needed. All so-called maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides in food will become unified after a phase-in period. The Commission said the setting of safe levels of MRLs will take into account the specific diets of children or adults in different countries. It will also take into account the cumulative effects of pesticides acting in a similar way. Children, for example, drink a lot of apple juice and the MRL is set to ensure that safe levels will not be exceeded even with a high level of consumption, the Commission said. "This legislation provides for Europe-wide limits for pesticide residues on food products, providing reassurance and certainty for consumers and making trade easier within the EU," said Markos Kyprianou, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection in a statement.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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