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Press release
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| September 27, 2001
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 "Pesticide residues : standards and toxicity, when should one start worrying ?" - 5 questions are asked to Bernard Charlot - UIPP chairman, Philippe Michel - UIPP technical manager and Jacques My - UIPP general secretary. The meeting was held at Ladurée on Tuesday September 25, 2001 at 9 am.
1/ How are the effects of pesticides assessed on health in the short and long
term?
In order to assess risks to consumers, the residue quantity which could be ingested by a consumer without causing any health hazard should be compared with residue levels recovered in food
(average food basket : i.e. apples, cereals, tomatoes, bananas, milk,
meat, eggs).
The quantity of residues which can be taken in is determined from a No Observed Effect Level (NOEL) observed on the animal which is most sensitive to the most severe test. This NOEL corresponds to the quantity of active substance that does not show any symptoms when ingested by an animal.
The No observed effect level can be deducted from long-term studies (18 months to 2
years) and from short-term studies (28 days to 3 months) and allows to evaluate the long and short term
risks. Divided by a safety factor which is at least 100, it allows to calculate the Acceptable Daily Intake
(A.D.I.) for long term exposures and the acute reference dose (ArfD) for short term
exposure.
The Acceptable Daily Intake corresponds to the maximum amount of residues that could be ingested by any individual every day of his life without causing any hazard to his
health.
The levels of residue are measured for all crops on which the product is to be authorised and used
(food basket). This basket also contains processed food (i.e. : wine,
beer, eggs, meat…). The sum of residues of this basket should not exceed neither the ADI nor the acute reference dose.
Furthermore, residues which can remain on a crop in certain trials are taken to establish MRL's taking ADI into account but these are stictly regulatory
thresholds.
This is the reason why a temporary excess of MRL does not mean there is a health risk according to the safety factor
taken. It yields information on improper use of pesticides (ie : too many product applications, pre-harvest interval too short…)
These safety factors are important to take into account possible cumulative effects of substances used
together. These effects could only be possible, according to current scientific
knowledge, for active substances that have an activity on the same site of action.
2/ Does an fully biodegradable product that does not leave any residues at all in food exist ?
The concept of a zero-residue does not exist. There are always some traces of
residue. They can be revealed with scientific analyses methods that are more and more
precise. Experts today find more and more different traces in smaller
quantities. All these molecules are subject to degradation and exterior factors like
heat, rain, moisture and light are part of this process. Biodegradability of a products depends on plant
metabolism. Registration process of a plant protection product takes degradation in plants into
account. Scientists study molecule behaviour and systematically evaluate the risks in severeal types of
crops.
3/ Transformation of raw material into a finished food
product, does it allow to eliminate remaining residues?
Usual operations like washing, peeling, cooking yield a natural decrease in
residues. In order to register a product studies are carried out on processed food to measure elimination of residues
(making wine, beer, bread…). Furthermore, the food chain establishes regular controls from the field to distribution of our foodstuffs bought in shops in order to check if Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) are nor
exceeded.
4/ Is there any role of the consumer that can help to improve the quality of food that will be eaten ?
It could be recommended to clean, wash, peel or strip the leaves from foodstuffs before eating
them.
5/ Do plants react the same way to pesticides ?
Plants have their own metabolism. Scientists study the impact of active substances and their metabolites (active substance
degradation) on different types of crops (fruit, vegetables..).
Towards European harmonisation : review programme of active substances with regards to European product registration has started and will be finalised in 2008. The consequence will be a withdrawn of 50% of the old active substances currently on the
market. Furthermore, it already results in European harmonisation of admissible MLR's in
food.
For products which are not already authorised at a national level, an import tolerance procedure exist and should bee followed by the exporter. It allows to take into account residues of substances present in imported crops for risk
assessment.
The plant protection industry today wishes to implement :
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a pesticide residue observatory in foodstuffs under the sponsorship of at least DGAL (Direction Générale de
L'Alimentation, Agricultural Ministry) and DGCCRF (Direction Générale de la Concurrence et de la Répression des Fraudes, Ministry of economy and finances), associating
consumers, people from the food industry…Results would be presented each
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traceability procedures, development of integrated plant protection, increased training on Good Agricultural Practices in order to prevent exceeding MRL's and maintain food quality. |
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