Exposure of consumers to multiple pesticide residues in food would not be harmful to their health, according to the first two pilot assessments by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published on Wednesday 29 April.
One focuses on chronic effects on the thyroid system and the other on acute effects on the nervous system.
“The overall conclusion for both assessments is that consumer risk from dietary cumulative exposure is, with varying degrees of certainty, below the threshold that triggers regulatory action for all the population groups covered”, the EFSA said in a statement.
In other words, risk managers - the European Commission and Member States - should not review the levels of pesticide residues allowed in food.
The final results of these pilot assessments were eagerly awaited.
The European Regulation of 2005 (396/2005) on Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticide residues in or on food and feed requires that the cumulative and synergistic effects of pesticides be taken into account in the safety assessment.
The 2009 Regulation (1107/2009) on the authorisation of the placing of pesticides on the market in the EU stipulates that pesticides must not have any harmful effects - including cumulative effects - on humans.
Year after year, PAN Europe (Pesticide Action Network) deplores the increase of the number of foodstuffs containing residues of at least two pesticides (almost one third of foodstuffs in 2019) in Europe and the minimisation of risks by the EFSA, each time it publishes its annual report, without evaluating this mixture of pesticides (see EUROPE 12289/10, 12463/33).
The EFSA states that “the assessments are the culmination of a multi-year collaboration” with the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and that they have been the subject of consultation with all stakeholders.
To consult the studies: https://bit.ly/3aQaURg and https://bit.ly/3cYNpqS (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)