The 2021 European Union report on pesticide residues in food
Last 26th April 2023, The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published the EU 2021 report on pesticide residues in food.
The report is based on data from the official national control activities carried out by EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. For 2021, 87,863 food samples were analysed. Of these, 13,845 samples are part of the EU Coordinate Control Programme (EU MACP).
Analysis of the results shows that:
- 96.1% of the samples fell below the maximum residue level (MRL)
- 3.9 % exceed the maximum residue level (MRL) of which 2.5% were non-compliant, i.e. samples exceeding the MRL after accounting for the measurement uncertainty.
The EU MACP analyses samples randomly collected from 12 food products: by 2021, samples of aubergines (egg plants), bananas,broccoli, cultivated fungi, grapefruit, melons, sweet peppers, table grapes, virgin olive oil, wheat,bovine fat and chicken eggs were selected.The listed food products are distributed across a 3-year cycle, so that every 3 years the same products are analysed.
For the subset of 13,845 samples analysed as part of the EU’s coordinated control programme (EU MACP), it was found that:
- 97.9% of the samples fell below the maximum residue level (MRL)
- 58.1% (8,043 samples) were free of quantifiable levels of residues (residues< LOQ)
- 39.8% (5.507) contained one or more residues in concentrations below or equal to MRLs.
- 2.1 % (295) exceed the MRLs, of which 184 (1.3%) were found to be non-compliant based on the measurement uncertainty
The overall rate at which pesticide residues exceeded the MRL rose from 1.4% in 2018 to 2.1% in 2021. Excluding grapefruits, the average MRL exceedance rate was 1.4% in 2021, the same as in 2018.
Reporting countries analysed on average 53.3% of domestic products (i.e. samples from the reporting country), 22.8 % from other EU countries, 19.6 % from third countries and 4.3% of unknown origin. Similar rates were observed in 2020 except for the imports from third countries that raised from 14% in 2020 to 19.6% in 2021.
Among the EU MACP samples reported and grown outside the internal EU market, 22 non-EU approved active substances were found to be non compliant in 97 samples. (chlorpyrifos in grapefruits; chlorfenapyr in sweet/bell peppers.
These results provide information for estimating the dietary exposure of EU consumers to pesticide residues. EFSA found that food commodities analysed in 2021 were unlikely to pose a concern for public health.
Recommendations are proposed to increase the effectiveness of European control systems, thereby continuing to ensure a high level of consumer protection throughout the EU, among them:
- EFSA recommends reporting countries to take measures to fulfil the minimum number of samples required in food and in the specific provisions for organic and baby food
- EFSA recommends keep monitoring chlorpyrifos and fluazifop in wheat and broccoli, ethephon in sweet/bell peppers, dithiocarbamates and 2-phenylphenol in cultivated fungi and increases frequency of the import controls of grapefruits from Türkiye.
- EFSA reiterates its recommendation for Member States to take necessary measures to be able to enforce properly these Nineteen pesticides: pencycuron (RD), dithianon (RD), 2-phenylphenol (RD), glufosinate (RD),fosetyl (RD), bromide ion (RD), 2,4-D (RD), prochloraz (RD), chlordane (RD), spirotetramat(RD), haloxyfop (RD),fluazifop (RD), ethephon (RD), mepiquat chloride (RD), formetanate hydrochloride (RD), pyridalyl (RD), dithiocarbamates (RD), cyflufenamid (RD) and fenbutatin oxide (RD), most of them requiring the use of single residue methods, because did not reach the target number of analysis.
- Samples from non-EU countries showed a 5-fold MRL exceedance rate of 10.3 percent and a non-compliance rate of 6.4 percent compared with food produced within the EU. Member States’ National authorities are recommended to keep monitoring pesticides residues in samples imported from third countries with a wide analytical scope
- Considering the high MRL exceedance rate (6.6%) for ethylene oxide. EFSA recommends Member States to continue monitoring this active substance in sesame seeds,curcuma, rice and chilli peppers coming from India
- The highest frequency of multiple residues in processed food samples was found in wine grapes, raisins, dried celery leaves,marjoram, grape leaves and similar species (salted and canned). EFSA recommends MemberStates to continue monitoring these foodstuffs under their programmes
- Processed food products exhibiting the higher non-compliance rate were grape leaves and similar species (56.6%), dried chilli peppers (19.1%), dried laver (13.9%) and dried dill leaves (11.9%). In the case of unprocessed food products passion fruit/maracujas(14.9%), granate apples/pomegranates (12.8%) and chilli peppers (13.9%) were those with the highest non-compliance rate. It is recommended to continue monitoring these processed and unprocessed food items in the various national control programmes throughout the EU.
- Despite MRL exceedance and non-compliance rates were steady in 2021 respect to 2020, non-authorised substances in organic farming were reported sporadically in samples coming from third countries: imazalil (RD) (mostly in miscellaneous fruits with inedible peel from Ecuador), chlorpyrifos (RD) (mostly in buckwheat and other pseudo-cereals from Bolivia)and ethylene oxide (mostly in turmeric/curcuma from India) were found in crops labelled as organic. EFSA recommends Member States to widen the analytical scope in organic samples as much as possible.
- In animal products these were the MRL exceedances:
- bromide ion in chicken eggs and bovine fat.
- copper compounds in honey,
- bovine liver and wild terrestrial vertebrate animals.
- chlordecone in chicken eggs and bovine fat.
- BAC and DDAC in cattle milk.
- chloratein quail egg
EFSA recommends to study the reasons why some substances appear in some animal commodities and not in others and in the case of chlordecone (a banned persistent pollutant) to continue monitoring in areas where it was used in the past.
Honey still presents the highest number of quantified pesticides (28) among the animal products,being the most frequent thiacloprid and acetamiprid. Member States are recommended to keep monitoring honey and other apicultural products in their national programme investigating the reasons for the presence of these substances.
Mérieux NutriSciences provides a wide range of services (including testing) to food manufacturers for pesticides residues quantification guaranteeing them to meet regulations and quality standards. Our laboratories are ISO17025 accredited.
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The 2021 EU report on pesticides residues in food
