On Wednesday 28 April, for reasons of public health and environmental protection, the European Parliament opposed two draft implementing regulations from the European Commission aimed at increasing the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of pesticides in certain food products.
In both cases, the Commission is invited to withdraw its proposal and to submit another one that respects the precautionary principle.
The first objection, adopted by 441 votes (242 against), concerns a whole series of active substances, including lufenuron, a benzoylurea pesticide that inhibits the production of chitin in insects, which meets the criteria for identification as a persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substance, according to a German study.
Parliament also notes that a recent scientific report indicates that the substance can cause teratogenic effects and histopathological changes in the liver and kidneys in rats, which suggests a risk to pregnant women and their foetuses and embryos.
Lufenuron is no longer authorised in the EU, but is exported as an agri-food pesticide.
The draft Commission Regulation was proposed following an application for an import tolerance for lufenuron used in Brazil on grapefruit and sugar cane. The Parliament proposes to leave the level of MRLs setting at the lowest level.
The second objection, adopted by 366 votes (305 against), concerns a range of active substances, including flonicamid, a selective and systemic insecticide that disrupts the behaviour of insects, leading them to starve and die of thirst. The Parliament also raises: - problems in rats identified by the European Chemicals Agency, which the latter considers unrelated to the substance; - the lack of sufficient data to assess the risks to bees.
Therefore, it considers that the MRLs for flonicamid should remain at 0.03 mg/kg.
See European Parliament resolutions: - Lufenuron: https://bit.ly/2QHHG2W - Flonicamide: https://bit.ly/2QGM9TJ (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)