Europeans are concerned about pesticide residues in food and their potential effect on health. Find out how MEPs are tackling the issue.
About 50% of the food tested by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2016 contained pesticide residues, with 3.8% exceeding legal limits. In the EU, pesticides and the active substances in them are carefully monitored, but in recent years, concern has been raised over the approval procedure, especially after controversy about the renewal of glyphosate approval in 2017.
To better protect people’s health the European Parliament wants action to improve the management of pesticide use in the EU.
More transparent pesticide approval procedure
In February 2018, Parliament appointed a special committee to look into the EU’s authorisation procedure for pesticides. On 16 January, MEPs backed the committee’s final report pushing for more transparent procedures to ensure political accountability.
MEPs recommend that:
*The public should be granted access to studies used in the authorisation procedure
*Manufacturers asking for substance approval should register all regulatory studies in a public register to ensure all relevant information is taken into account
*Scientific experts should review studies on carcinogenicity of glyphosate and maximum residue levels for soils and surface water should be set
*Pesticides and their active substances should be tested thoroughly, taking into account cumulative effects and long-term toxicityPesticides should no longer be used over a wide area near schools, childcare facilities, playing fields, hospitals, maternity hospitals and care homes
Better access to studies on food chain safety
In December 2018 Parliament voted in favour of an update of the general food law regulation covering food safety in EU at all stages of the food chain, including animal health, plant protection and production.
The proposed new rules aim to improve public access to studies used by the European Food Safety Agency in the risk assessment of food products, and to ensure the studies are reliable, objective and independent.
A common European registry would be set up for commissioned studies, so the European Food Safety Agency can check whether companies are suppressing any unfavourable studies. If there is reason to doubt the evidence provided by the applicants, the agency could request additional studies.
Read more: Pesticides in food: what is the European Parliament doing to help? | News | European Parliament
About 50% of the food tested by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2016 contained pesticide residues, with 3.8% exceeding legal limits. In the EU, pesticides and the active substances in them are carefully monitored, but in recent years, concern has been raised over the approval procedure, especially after controversy about the renewal of glyphosate approval in 2017.
To better protect people’s health the European Parliament wants action to improve the management of pesticide use in the EU.
More transparent pesticide approval procedure
In February 2018, Parliament appointed a special committee to look into the EU’s authorisation procedure for pesticides. On 16 January, MEPs backed the committee’s final report pushing for more transparent procedures to ensure political accountability.
MEPs recommend that:
*The public should be granted access to studies used in the authorisation procedure
*Manufacturers asking for substance approval should register all regulatory studies in a public register to ensure all relevant information is taken into account
*Scientific experts should review studies on carcinogenicity of glyphosate and maximum residue levels for soils and surface water should be set
*Pesticides and their active substances should be tested thoroughly, taking into account cumulative effects and long-term toxicityPesticides should no longer be used over a wide area near schools, childcare facilities, playing fields, hospitals, maternity hospitals and care homes
Better access to studies on food chain safety
In December 2018 Parliament voted in favour of an update of the general food law regulation covering food safety in EU at all stages of the food chain, including animal health, plant protection and production.
The proposed new rules aim to improve public access to studies used by the European Food Safety Agency in the risk assessment of food products, and to ensure the studies are reliable, objective and independent.
A common European registry would be set up for commissioned studies, so the European Food Safety Agency can check whether companies are suppressing any unfavourable studies. If there is reason to doubt the evidence provided by the applicants, the agency could request additional studies.
Read more: Pesticides in food: what is the European Parliament doing to help? | News | European Parliament
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