Food News

The EU monitoring programme for pesticide residues in food is designed to ensure compliance with maximum levels and assess the risk of exposure for European consumers through a Community test plan that is updated annually. Commission Regulation 2023/731 of 3 April 2023 established the programme for the period 2024-2026.

The monitoring programme for the years 2024-2026 will include 10 foodstuffs of plant origin and 2 foodstuffs of animal origin to be tested for pesticide residues per year. The testing programme covers not only food from conventional cultivation, but also the testing of organic products and baby food. In 2024, the following foodstuffs are to be examined for residues:

• bananas, grapefruits, melons, table grapes
• aubergines, broccoli, cultivated mushrooms, sweet peppers
• wheat (kernels)
• virgin olive oil (taking into account a processing factor)
• bovine fat and chicken eggs

Vegetable foods are to be analysed for up to 195 parameters and foods of animal origin for up to 29 parameters.

New parameters for plant foods are Clopyralid, Flupyradifuron, Nicotine, Triflumizole zoxamides and copper, with nicotine to be tested only in table grapes from 2024. Ethylene oxide will only be tested in wheat in 2024. New parameters for foodstuffs of animal origin are the growth-regulating substances chlormequat and mepiquat and also copper.

All the above parameters are to be tested according to the residue definition of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. If metabolites, degradation or reaction products covered by the residue definition are determined separately from the active substance, they must also be reported separately.

YOUR PLUS: The AGROLAB residue laboratories can routinely check all the above parameters for you as part of the comprehensive residue testing packages. Our tip: Also take this information into account when revising your internal testing plans.

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger