EU Parliament Blocks Commission Proposals to Allow Banned Pesticides in Imported Foods
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On September 18, 2024, the European Parliament blocked two European Commission decisions that would have allowed residues of several pesticides banned in the EU in a range of imported foods. The Commission must withdraw its proposals.
If Parliament had not blocked them, the two Commission decisions would have set import tolerances/maximum residue levels for:
- Cyproconazole and spirodiclofen in imported cereals, seeds, meat, liver, kidney, and other foods
- Benomyl, carbendazim, and thiophanate‐methyl in lemons, limes, mandarins, okra, and other foods.
The pesticides for which the Commission proposed setting import tolerances are banned for use in the EU. In their reasoning for blocking the Commission’s decisions, Parliament stressed that agri-food products imported from non-EU countries must follow the same standards as goods produced in the EU to ensure a level playing field, and that allowing maximum residue levels of these banned chemicals in imported foods would jeopardize public health.
Regarding the Commission’s decision to set import tolerances for cyproconazole and spirodiclofen, 522 members of Parliament (MEPs) voted in favor, 127 voted against, and 27 abstained. For the decision about benomyl, carbendazim, and thiophanate‐methyl, 516 voted in favor, 129 against, and 27 abstained. An absolute majority of at least 359 MEPs was needed to reject the Commission’s decisions.
Moving forward, the Commission must now withdraw its proposals. MEPs have called upon the Commission to submit a new draft decision lowering all maximum residue levels to the limit of determination (the lowest detectable level), or to the default value of 0.01 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) for all uses, as well as to refuse any requests for import tolerances.
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