Technical assistance to support discussions on national risk management measures to address possible shortages of food and feed supply as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Some EU Member States depend to a great extent on feed imports from Ukraine. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the supply chains are interrupted, and stakeholders informed the European Commission about possible imminent shortages, mainly for wheat, barley, maize, sunflower seeds, rapeseeds and soyabeans used for feed purposes. As a consequence, they announced to take steps to find alternative sources for importing these products.

However, stricter maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides in the EU (EU MRLs), may pose problems for imports if the MRLs in the country of origin were set at higher levels. Member States may make use of the possibility of Article 18(4) of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 and set national temporary MRLs (tMRLs) in such exceptional circumstances, provided that those are safe for consumers based on a detailed risk assessment and that controls are put in place to ensure that consignments not complying with EU MRLs do not leave the national territory.

In the current report, EFSA provides technical background information that is intended to support Member States who consider the implementation of Codex MRLs as national temporary MRLs and highlights certain options for flexibility in view of setting national temporary MRLs which are however very limited.

This technical report does not anticipate any national risk management decisions, which falls under the responsibility of the national competent authorities.