EFSA analyzed thousands of samples collected in 2023 from commonly consumed products. Maximum residue levels (MRLs) were exceeded in 2 percent of samples, of which 1 percent were non-compliant after taking into account the measurement uncertainty.
In the study, a high-throughput analysis system with an analysis time of 13 minutes was developed to detect pesticide residues in corn. Corn samples from different origins were found to contain distinct exogenous pesticide profiles.
In a new opinion, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is proposing to modify the existing maximum residue limits (MRLs) for agricultural chemical chlormequat in oats, as well as in the products of food-producing animals.
The latest data published by the Swedish Food Agency shows that very few foods on the Swedish market violate EU pesticide residue limits, and more than half of foods tested contained no detectable levels of pesticides at all.
The Alliance for Food and Farming has created an online tool that enables users to view the amount of produce a person would have to consume to experience health effects from pesticide residues.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has compiled a report on the exposure of humans and food-producing animals to endocrine-disrupting chemicals—such as PFAS, BPA, and phthalates, among others—between 2004 and 2024.
An analysis of globally sourced table grapes conducted by the Chemical and Veterinary Analytical Institute of Stuttgart, Germany (CVUA Stuttgart) found notable levels of pesticides, which were significantly higher in grapes imported from outside the EU. Grapes from Türkiye were especially problematic.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released its Pesticide Data Program Annual Summary for 2023, which showed more than 99 percent of sampled products to be compliant with pesticide residue tolerances set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Baby food producer Little Spoon is the first U.S. company in the sector to promise to never sell product that exceeds EU-aligned limits for toxic heavy metals, pesticides, and plasticizers, and to voluntarily publicize its product testing results.
The European Parliament blocked two European Commission decisions that would have set tolerances for EU-banned pesticides in a range of imported foods.
