Pesticides in food (Signal)

People are most commonly exposed to pesticides through diet (HBM4EU, 2022). Pesticide residues can be found in raw or processed fruits and vegetables, and animal products such as meat, milk or eggs. This occurs through presence in feed and fodder, or animal exposure to contaminated soil, water or air. Residues may be present both in EU-grown foods or imports from third countries.

To manage risk, EU Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 (EU, 2005) sets maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides based on good agricultural practice and the lowest exposure necessary to protect vulnerable consumers. Currently, EU-harmonised MRLs are set for more than 1,300 pesticides across 378 food products and groups.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) collects and assesses annual monitoring data on pesticide residues in European market foods through the EU-coordinated multiannual control programme set up by Regulation (EU) 2024/989 (EU, 2024). The overall objective of this framework is to assess dietary exposure to pesticide residues and ensure compliance with MRLs.

EFSA also analyses monitoring data collected as part of the national control programmes established by the same regulation. However, national programmes are not harmonised as each individual reporting country can define its own sampling priorities.

In 2022, the latest year for which data are available, the 12 most consumed food products included in the EU-coordinated programme were apples, strawberries, peaches (including nectarines and similar hybrids), wine (red or white), lettuces, head cabbages, tomatoes, spinaches, oat grain, barley grain, cow's milk and swine fat (EFSA et al., 2024). In 51.4% of samples analysed, no quantifiable levels of residues were reported (residues were below the so-called limit of quantification, LOQ). The percentage of samples with pesticide residues within legally-permitted levels (at or above the LOQ but below or at the MRL) was 47.0%. MRLs were exceeded in 1.6% of samples, of which 0.9% were found to be non-compliant (measurement uncertainty).

As the same basket of food products is assessed every three years under the EU-coordinated programme, it is also possible to identify trends in MRL exceedances. Compared with 2019 data, exceedance rates have increased for head cabbages, tomatoes, lettuces, barley and oat grain. A food product may exceed pesticide MRLs for a variety of reasons, including the use of non-approved pesticides, failure to respect good agricultural practices in the application of pesticides, the misuse of approved pesticides on different crops, or environmental contamination from previous pesticide uses. Based on the EFSA’s assessment, the current levels of dietary exposure to individual pesticides are unlikely to pose a risk to consumer health in Europe. It should be noted, however, that consumers are exposed to multiple pesticides, potentially sharing the same mechanism of action or causing a similar phenomenological effect. To assess the risk of mixture effects, EFSA has developed methodologies to perform cumulative risk assessments.

Please consult the relevant indicators and signals below for a more comprehensive overview on the topic.