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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) reported cases of and (b) successful prosecutions for breaches of maximum residue levels from pesticides there have been in each of the last five years. [197581] Alun Michael: The UK's surveillance programme for pesticide residues in food is overseen by the independent Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC). In 2003, 4,071 samples of imported or UK-produced food were tested for up to 149 different pesticide residues. The Maximum Residue Level (MRL) was exceeded in 27 (0.7 per cent.) samples. For previous years, the percentage of exceedances is similar, at around 1 per cent. All the results are available on the PRC's website at www.prc.org. MRLs are not safety limits. Statutory Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) have been established for many thousands of individual pesticides in individual crops. The purpose of MRLs is to regulate trade in treated food. They indicate that any pesticide was applied to crops or foodstuffs in accordance with the conditions of use set by the UK regulator, the Pesticides Safety Directorate, or equivalent organisations overseas. They are always set below, often far below, safety limits. The safety limit depends on many factors, which include the properties of the pesticide, the amount of residue, amount of food being consumed and whether this is in a single meal or over a longer period, and the body weight of the consumer (e.g. adult, child, infant). In all cases where an MRL is exceeded, a risk assessment is carried out. The conclusion was that none of the exceedances in 2003 was likely to be of concern for consumer health. Where there is evidence of repeated exceedances of an MRL or the use of a pesticide on a crop for which the pesticide is not approved, a targeted enforcement campaign is carried out. An enforcement campaign has been carried out for the last three years testing for MRL's on winter lettuce. Winter lettuce grown in the UK under glass is particularly prone to fungal attack during the cool damp winter months and there are only a limited number of products approved for disease control. Over the last three years, the enforcement campaign has revealed that there have been 57 samples of lettuce containing pesticide residues over the MRL. This is made up of; 27 samples (18 per cent. of the total samples taken) in 2001-02, 16 (10.8 per cent.) in 2002-03, and 14 (8.7 per cent.) in 2003-04. Although a number of enforcement actions have been taken including warning letters, educational visits and the issuing of enforcement notices, the evidence obtained (and in particular the risk to human health), has not supported any prosecution.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

426 c1253-5W;426 c1257-9W; 197581

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Convictions Farmers Prosecutions Pesticides

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk