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QA
Pesticides are chemical or biological substances that are used to kill or control pests that harm our food, health or environment. They are particularly used in food production because pests can have devastating effects on the quantity and quality of crops. Pests include rodents, insects, fungi and plants. Only officially approved pesticides may be used. Plant growth regulators, which are used to influence particular growth processes in plants (for example, slowing down the growth of sprouts on potatoes) are also regulated as pesticides.
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Pesticides are mainly used in agriculture to keep crops healthy and prevent them being wasted by disease and infestation. They are particularly used in food production because pests can have devastating effects on the quantity and quality of crops.
Pesticides are also used to protect public health by controlling various pests and disease carriers, such as insects, rats and mice.
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Studies on the health effects of pesticides are carried out on all pesticides before they are approved for use in the European Union. The studies are based on internationally accepted guidelines. They establish what scientists agree is an acceptable dose to humans, usually based on a 'no observed adverse effect level' (NOAEL) in animals.
Both long-term and short-term exposures to pesticides are considered during the safety assessment. For long-term exposure to pesticides, the ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) is used to estimate the amount of a substance that people, including the young, the elderly, the sick and pregnant women, can eat every day of their lives without having an appreciable risk to their health, based on current scientific evidence.
For short-term exposure the ARfD (Acute Reference Dose) is used. This is the amount of a chemical that can be taken in at one meal or on one day without appreciable health risk to anyone consuming it.
Definitions of NOEAL, ADI and ARfD are given in the glossary of terms .
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Pesticides are regulated to make sure they don't present unacceptable risks to the public, to people who apply them, to the environment or to animals. In the UK pesticides are assessed by Government departments and an independent scientific committee, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP). The FSA has oversight on all matters relating to the safety of the food.
Government Ministers must approve all pesticides before they can be marketed or used in the UK. Once approved, pesticide residues in the food chain are monitored through an official monitoring programme.
The ACP has published a guide to pesticide regulation in the UK. This can be found on the (External) ACP website , under 'Introduction to the ACP'.
Any company wanting to get a pesticide approved must submit an application containing information on any potential health and environmental risks. This always includes data on the potential of the pesticide to cause cancer and damage human reproduction.
Rigorous safety assessments are undertaken to make sure that any pesticide residues remaining in the crop will not be harmful to people.
The company must also supply information on how effective the pesticide is, whether impurities are present, and whether it's safe for the people who will be applying it, the environment and animals.
Pesticides are also reviewed regularly and if a review highlights any areas of concern then more data may be sought, or the approval may be modified or withdrawn completely.
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You can find information on specific pesticides from the websites below. The CRD has information on specific products and ACP evaluation reports on some active substances, the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticides Residues also has toxicological evaluations, and you can search for information on specific active substances on the European Food Safety Authority website.
QA
Pesticide residues are the very small amounts of pesticides that can remain in or on a crop after harvesting or storage and make their way into the food chain.
Not all foods contain pesticide residues, and where they do occur they are typically at very low levels. Pesticide residues also include any breakdown products from the pesticide.
Pesticide residues can remain even when pesticides are applied in the right amount and at the right time. Sometimes they need to stay on the crop to do their job. For example, they may need to be on the surface of a fruit or vegetable to protect it from pests during storage. Some pesticides are applied after harvest for this purpose.
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When a pesticide is approved for use on crops in the European Union, limits are set on how much residue can legally remain in food. These limits are called Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). Pesticide MRLs are not safety limits but are based on good agricultural practice and are usually well below the levels that would be of concern for people's health. Imported food must meet the same limits. You can find out more about MRLs from the (External) Chemical Regulation Directorate (CRD) website.
The MRLs applicable in the UK for particular pesticides in particular foods can be found on the (External) CRD website too.
From 1 September 2008, the current MRL system will change when EC Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 396/2005) comes into effect. For more information on this see 'How will EC regulation 396/2005 affect pesticide regulation in the UK?' and the (External) Chemical Regulation Directorate (CRD) website.
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From 1 September 2008, a new EC Regulation (396/2005) comes into force that will harmonise all pesticide MRLs for the EU.
Under this legislation, the European Food Safety Authority will assess MRL applications for new pesticides. The new regulation also provides for the setting of a default limit of 0.01 mg/kg for all pesticide/commodity combinations for which no MRLs have been set (unless MRLs are not required or different defaults have been fixed).
This is a very low legal limit for particular pesticide cases where insufficient residues information has been provided. The result will be a substantial increase in the number of pesticide/commodity combinations with legal limits, and the potential for an increase in (External) Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) reports of MRL exceedances. However, this does not mean that more residues have exceeded safety levels.
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An official pesticide monitoring programme checks pesticide residues in the UK food and drink supply, to ensure that there aren't any unexpected residues, to check that residues are not more than the maximum residue levels (MRLs), and to provide an extra check that pesticide residues are not posing a risk to people's health.
This programme is overseen by the independent Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC), which advises the Government. Details of the monitoring programme can be found at:
(External)
http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/
.
QA
The results of the official monitoring programme are published quarterly and annually by the PRC. Some 3700 food samples are tested each year, many for more than 100 pesticides. Foods that are eaten often as a major component of the diet, such as potatoes, milk and bread, are monitored regularly. A range of fruit and vegetables, cereals and cereal products, fish and fish products, and products of animal origin, are monitored on a rolling basis every few years.
The results since 2000 show that pesticide residues are found in about 30% of all the samples tested covering a wide range of food, and in about 40% of fruit and vegetable samples tested. These are overall results; some individual food results show a higher percentage of samples with residues, some a lower percentage. Although not every pesticide is looked for, all those that are likely to be found are sought, including non-approved pesticides that might have a specific use on a particular crop.
The vast majority (about 98%) of samples tested did not contain residues above legal limits or residues of non-approved pesticides. In all cases where there was a concern about people's intakes of pesticide residues, a risk assessment was carried out by both the CRD and the FSA and any necessary follow-up action was taken, such as notifying retailers, suppliers or growers. Some special follow-up surveys and enforcement investigations were also undertaken. In almost all cases the residues did not present an appreciable risk to people’s health. The detailed results of the official monitoring programme can be found on the PRC website.
QA
Pesticide use varies according to the crop, the climate, types of pest present and the numbers of these pests in a given year.
The conditions under which particular crops are grown can also affect the need for pesticides; for example, tomatoes grown under cover need no pesticides or fewer pesticides than those grown outside.
In addition, some pesticides, such as those used post-harvest are designed to stay on particular crops. In contrast, other pesticides break down so that no residues are left by the time the crop is harvested.
The monitoring programme in 2006 showed that 65% of the food samples did not contain detectable pesticide residues when they were tested for a range of pesticides. These are overall results: the results for grapefruit showed 97% of samples containing residues, whereas no samples of cauliflower contained residues. The surveillance looks for pesticides most likely to be applied to a particular crop, plus non-approved pesticides that may have been used on the crop.
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Yes. Fruit sometimes contains more pesticide residues than other foods because fruits are particularly prone to damage from pests and the use of pesticides may prevent this damage. This use is taken into account when pesticides are authorised and trials are undertaken to ensure that pesticide residues left in the crop would not harm anyone, including children.
The official monitoring results over the past few years show that some foods have a higher percentage of samples with residues than others. However, the residues are usually only present in very low quantities that would not harm consumers. Certain fruits, such as citrus fruit and bananas, have a high percentage of samples with residues but these fruits are generally peeled before eating, which would lower the levels of pesticide that people actually consume. Milk, cheese, and many other commodities rarely have detectable residues. More than 30% of certain meat and oily fish samples have had very low levels of residues (this includes organic samples); these are residues that persist in the environment and accumulate in fatty tissue. At the low levels present, CRD and FSA risk assessments conclude that there is no threat to consumers' health.
These are only broad, general indications. The detailed results of the official monitoring programme can be found on the website of the Pesticides Residues Committee.
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Manufacturers take stringent precautions to make sure that pesticide residues in baby foods are kept to a minimum. Infant formula and manufactured baby food are monitored as part of the official pesticides monitoring programme overseen by the Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC). Pesticide residues have occasionally been found in baby foods at very low levels that would not harm babies.
Under European law, there is a maximum residue level (MRL) of 0.01mg/kg for individual pesticides in infant formula and manufactured baby foods. In March 2005, tighter controls on these foods were introduced for a small number of pesticides that are considered more toxic and have very low acceptable daily intakes (ADIs). The level of residues of these pesticides allowed in infant formula and manufactured baby foods is now even lower, to make sure that babies and young children don't exceed the ADI. These are precautionary measures because most of these pesticides aren't allowed to be used in the EU.
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Baby foods prepared at home could contain residues at a slightly higher level than would be found in manufactured foods. But the risks to babies and young children from pesticide residues in home-prepared food is not significantly higher than from the residues in commercial baby foods. The tight controls on all pesticides residues in food are designed to protect the health of everyone, including children, babies and unborn babies.
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You don't need to wash or peel fruit and vegetables because of pesticide residues. However, it's a good idea to wash fruit and vegetables before you eat them to ensure that they are clean, and to help remove germs that might be on the outside.
If a vegetable or piece of fruit is especially dirty, washing might not be enough to get it clean, so then you could peel it. For example, carrots sometimes need scraping or peeling to remove soil.
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Washing, peeling fruit and removing the outer leaves of vegetables may remove residues of certain pesticides. But some pesticides are systemic, which means they are found within the fruit or vegetable. For some fruits, such as oranges, peeling will usually remove most of the residues that might be present, but small amounts of some residues may still remain in the fruit.
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Processing, including cooking, generally reduces the level of pesticides in food. This is because processing can break down the pesticides, or remove the part of the plant that carries the residue.
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No. Studies show that people who eat a diet containing at least five portions of a variety of different fruit and vegetables a day have a lower risk for developing certain diseases, including some type of cancers. The FSA recommends that consumers eat a balanced diet containing at least five servings of fruit and vegetables every day. For more information visit our eatwell website below.
Expert committees set safety limits for all approved pesticides, based on scientific evidence. Eating foods containing pesticide residues at levels below the safety limits should not harm people's health.
Not eating any fruit and vegetables would be a much bigger risk to someone's health than eating foods containing low levels of pesticide residues.
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Over a lifetime, people will be exposed to many pesticides, through food, water and their environment. Individual foods can contain a mixture of pesticides and people may eat foods containing different pesticides at the same time. Some people are concerned that being exposed to such a 'cocktail' of pesticides may harm people's health.
The Working Group for the Risk Assessment of Mixtures of Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines (WiGRAMP) published a report in October 2002, which concluded that the risk to people's health from mixtures of residues is likely to be small. It also said that children and pregnant or breastfeeding women are unlikely to be more affected by the 'cocktail effect' than most other people.
However, the report identified areas of work for further investigation and made several recommendations. The Agency has published an action plan to carry forward these recommendations and has set up a research programme to look into the issue. See the section on Mixtures of Pesticides for more information.
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Imported food sold in the UK must comply with all UK or EU legal limits on pesticide residues. If there aren't UK or EU legal limits for a particular substance, international standards are used. Residues are found in a slightly higher percentage of imported foods than in UK foods, but the residue levels typically found don't present a health risk.
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Although pesticides have many benefits (see 'Why are pesticides used?'), their use can present risks to the environment, i.e. water, soil, plants and animals. However, these risks are taken into consideration during the pesticide approvals process. The Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) advises on any matters relating to the control of pests in the UK, including the approval of pesticides, and the committee's membership includes experts on environmental impact.
The Government has a long-standing policy of minimisation of the use of pesticides – encouraging farmers and others to use pesticides in ways that will have the least negative impact.
Further information on environmental issues can be found on the CRD website at the link below.
Guidance to minimise the environmental risks from the use of pesticides is set out in the Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Plant Protection Products for England and Wales (see the CRD web link below). Pesticide products also include information on the label for their correct use and application to avoid possible damage to both the user and the environment. 'Pesticides and the Environment: a strategy for the sustainable use of plant protection products' was launched by Defra in 2006 and updated in 2008. It provides a framework for plant protection product legislation, policies and initiatives, and contributes to goals promoting sustainable development.
There is also an industry-led Voluntary Initiative to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides through increased uptake of best practice by professional users.
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In most cases, organic food is produced without using pesticides. However, EU organic food regulations do allow a very limited range of pesticides in organic food production that may be used as a last resort, but only on some types of crops.
Some organic foods are sampled as part of the official residue monitoring programme overseen by the Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC). In addition, some pesticides approved for use in organic production have recently been included in the range of pesticides that are looked for in the official monitoring programme. For more information on organic food, see the link below.
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The safety of pesticides is carefully evaluated before approval. The process of setting acceptable residue levels includes a consideration of the variability in people's response to that chemical by the use of appropriate safety factors.
The routine safety evaluation broadly considers possible effects on the immune system and further more specialised tests may be performed on substances with suspected immunotoxic properties. People who are already sensitised to a chemical from other sources may react to residues of that chemical in food.
There is no published scientific evidence to suggest that exposure to low level residues of pesticides in food increases the prevalence of food allergy or food intolerance. General information on food allergy and food intolerance can be found at the link below.
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