PESTICIDE RESIDUES COMMITTEE PUBLISHES 2004 ANNUAL REPORT

29 Sep 2005 02:45 PM

Joint announcement by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, the National Assembly for Wales and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland

The 2004 Annual Report of the independent Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) was published today.

The report draws together the results of the UK's £2.2 million programme of pesticide residue testing in food and drink during 2004.

Over 3800 samples of both imported and home produced food were collected from many sources including shops, markets, ports and wholesale suppliers and tested for a wide range of different pesticides. Results are published every 3 months and then summarised at the end of the year in this annual report.

Dr Ian Brown, chairman of the committee, said:

"People should not be concerned by very low pesticide residues in our food. Our findings indicate that food suppliers are ensuring a high rate of compliance with legislation relating to use of pesticides and maximum residue levels.

"The results of the 2004 monitoring programme were reassuring. Almost 69% of the food we sampled was free of pesticide residues and only 1% contained residues above the permitted maximum levels. We carried out full risk assessments of these cases, which included looking at the most vulnerable people such as children and the elderly and there was no cause for concern.

"We have continued to strengthen the programme this year: broadening the range of pesticides we look for and continuing our work to broaden the scope of the programme by sampling foodstuffs collected from ports, wholesalers and suppliers, as well as retailers; and developing a 'rapid response' survey on grapes.

"Improving the way we give information to the public has been an important element of our work. Indeed this years report has gained a crystal mark from the Plain English campaign. We are holding an open business meeting in October 2005 in York and will be holding a public 'Workshop' in the Bristol area in May 2006 to cover broader topics of interest - this repeating the extremely successful event we held in York in May 2004."

Main findings
* 3854 samples were tested in 2004 (this compares to 4071 in 2003, 4105 in 2002, 4003 in 2001 and 2304 in 2000).

* Results for over 223,000 pesticide/commodity combinations in 2004 (170,000 in 2003, 180,000 in 2002, 130,000 in 2001 and 90,000 in 2000).

* The cost of the 2004 programme was £2.2m (£2.2m in 2003, £2.0m in 2002 and 2001 and £1.7m in 2000).

* 98.9% of the produce tested was either residue-free or contained residues within the maximum residue levels (99.3% in 2003, 99% in 2002, 99.3% in 2001 and 99% in 2000).

* 68.9% of the produce tested was free from residues (75% in 2003, 70% in 2002, 70.6% in 2001 and 71% in 2000).

* 1.1% of produce tested contained residues above the MRL (0.7% in 2003, 1% in 2002, 0.7% in 2001 and 1% in 2000).

Among the findings:
* No residues were found in corn on the cob, mini or baby sweetcorn, tined sweetcorn, beef, cheese, milk, tinned tuna, turkey, coffee, marmalade and orange juice.
* One of the 119 infant food sample contained residues above the relevant MRL. A risk assessment showed no concerns for infant health.

The annual report and the quarterly reports can be viewed on the PRC website at http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/prc.asp?id=959

The reports can also be obtained free of charge as detailed below.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The report's publication is a joint announcement by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, the National Assembly for Wales and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland.

2. Pesticide Residues Committee advises Ministers, the Pesticides Safety Directorate and the Food Standards Agency and is chaired by Dr Ian Brown (BSc Agric, FRCP, FFOM), consultant occupational physician and toxicologist at Southampton University Hospitals. It was reconstituted in 2000 with an entirely independent membership

3. The annual report covers the 2004 monitoring programme. The report summarises the findings from 39 surveys involving fruit and vegetables, animal products, cereal products and some processed products like coffee, marmalade, orange juice and infant foods.

4. The PRC is holding an open meeting on 19th October at the Foss House, York where members of the public will be able to observe one of the PRC's routine business meetings.
* The membership and terms of reference of the PRC are included in the report.

* The budget for the PRC programme is currently about £2.2m per year.

* Members of the public can call 01904 455775 to get information from the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) about pesticide residues in food. The Annual Report and the Quarterly Reports are available on the PRC web site http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/prc.asp . They can also be obtained free of charge by telephoning 01904 455756 or by writing to Room 308, Mallard House, Kings Pool, 3 Peasholme Green, York YO1 7PX.

* The PRC has also produced a useful leaflet about the monitoring programme which can be obtained free of charge from the same address.

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Public Enquiries - Pesticides Safety Directorate: 01904 455775 website: www.pesticides.gov.uk

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