Livsmedelsverket’s (the Swedish Food Agency's) sampling of pesticide residues in food during 2021 has shown that, similarly to previous years, the majority of foods tested did not contain pesticides that exceed EU maximum residue limits (MRLs). In most domestic samples, no residues were detected at all.
A total of 867 random samples were taken across six food categories in 2021, of which, 43 percent contained no detectable pesticide residues. However, in 36 samples (4.2 percent), pesticide concentrations above the MRLs were found. Rice samples imported from non-EU countries accounted for 44 percent of the total number of samples that exceeded pesticide MRLs.