Pesticide residues in food in the European Union: Analysis of notifications in the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed from 2002 to 2020

The European Union (EU) has one of the strictest pesticide policies. As one component of the regulatory framework, Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 sets harmonised maximum residue levels for pesticide residues in food and feed in the European Union to ensure high levels of consumer protection. Under certain circumstances, a notification in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) is released for pesticide residues exceeding a specific or a default maximum limit. Despite being a major food hazard in the European Union, no detailed analysis of notifications on pesticide residues over a longer period is available to date. Thus, an analysis of notifications on pesticide residues in food submitted in the RASFF between 2002 and 2020 was conducted. A total of 5211 notifications, including 15.8% alert notifications, 36.5% information notifications and 47.8% border rejections, were analysed with a focus on concerned products, causative pesticides and involved countries of origin. The notifications often concerned vegetables (53.8%) and fruits, tree nuts (24.2%) and reported a total of 7413 residues involving 251 pesticides in products mainly originating from third countries (82.4%), with multiple residues in 22.0% of notifications. Overall, the notifications on pesticide residues in food appear to be linked to the regulatory framework and selected risk management measures. While import controls and border rejections appear to be an effective means of protecting European consumers from non-compliant and potentially harmful products from third countries, the problem of unauthorised pesticide residues in products from EU/EFTA countries and of products not available at the time of publication in the RASFF might require further measures for food safety in the European single market.