Pesticide MRL harmonisation programme

Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 envisaged a full harmonisation for all pesticide Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) and replaced the previous legislation concerning MRLs for about 250 active substances. The European Commission has taken forward a food standards programme in order to harmonise the MRLs of the remaining 900 pesticides, which could potentially be present as residues in or on food. According to the Regulation these harmonised MRLs should be based on existing national provisions in EU Member States.

The Commission compiled a list of the national MRLs for these previously not harmonised substances. As many of these pesticides are no longer used in agriculture in or outside the EU, the Commission considered it appropriate to set MRLs for these essentially obsolete compounds at the lowest possible level. The Commission has therefore set MRLs for around 660 pesticides at the limit of determination, which is the lowest level surveillance laboratories can achieve in monitoring analysis. 

For the remaining compounds, which are still in use either in or outside the EU, Member States had established specific national MRLs. Temporary EU-level MRLs have been set for these substances as a first step in the harmonisation programme.

Opinion on temporary MRLs

In September 2006 the Commission submitted to EFSA a list of the highest MRLs applied at national level for pesticides, so called proposed temporary MRLs. In March 2007 the Authority published an opinion on the potential chronic and acute risk to consumers’ health arising from these proposed EU MRLs. 

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