Directive 2002/32/EC sets maximum levels for contaminants and pesticide residues in feedstuffs.
EU MRLs for pesticide residues are set to protect the consumers and to make trade possible in products containing residues. The rules concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market are laid down in Directive 91/414/EEC. MRLs are set based on authorised uses of plan protection products pursuant to this directive.
How are MRLs fixed?
To ensure that MRLs are as low as possible, applicants for an MRL have to submit scientific information about the minimum amounts of pesticide necessary to protect a crop and the residue level remaining on the crop after such treatment. This information have to come from supervised trials under specified use conditions (Good Agricultural Practice = GAP).
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is responsible for the evaluation of intented new MRLs. To determine whether an MRL is acceptable, the intake of residues through all food that may be treated with that pesticide is calculated and compared with the ADI*) and the ARfD**), for long and short term intake and for all available models of European consumer groups. When there is a risk established for any consumer group, the MRL application will be rejected and the pesticide may not be used on that crop. Food safety thus has priority over plant protection.
In case that the MRL requested is not considered safe, the lowest limit of analytical determination (LOD) is set as the MRL. The LOD is also set for crops on which there are no uses of the pesticide and when uses do not leave any detectable residues. The default LOD in the EU legislation is 0.01 mg/kg.
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*) ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) reflects the chronic toxicity. It is the estimate of the amount of a substance in food, expressed on a body-weight basis that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable health risk to the consumer.
**) ARfD (Acute Reference Dose) reflects the acute toxicity. It is the estimate of the amount of a substance in food, expressed on a body-weight basis that can be ingested over a short period of time, usually during one meal or one day, without appreciable health risk to the consumer.