Food and Health E-ssentials

EU Amends MRLs for Certain Pesticides Used in Food Products

The Commission of the European Union (EU) has recently issued two regulations that revise the maximum residue levels (MRLs) for a number of pesticides used in or on food and feed of plant or animal origin. 

Published on 29 October in the Official Journal of the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2019/1791 updates Annexes II, III and IV of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 that defines limits for certain pesticides. The specific MRL changes in this Regulation cover the use of the following pesticides in a wide variety of food types:

• 1-decanol 
• 2,4-D
• ABE-IT 56
• Cyprodinil
• Dimethenamid
• Fatty alcohols
• Florpyrauxifen-benzyl
• Fludioxonil
• Fluopyram
• Mepiquat
• Pendimethalin
• Picolinafen
• Pyraflufen-ethyl
• Pyridaben
• S-abscisic acid
• Trifloxystrobin

The revised MRLs covered in 2019/1791 are now in effect. 

A separate regulation, Regulation (EU) 2019/1792, was published on the same day in the Official Journal and amends Annexes II, III and V of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 to address the following pesticides:

• Amitrole 
• Fipronil
• Flupyrsulfuron-methyl
• Imazosulfuron
• Isoproturon
• Orthosulfamuron
• Triasulfuron

The revised MRLs in 2019/1792 are applicable from 18 May 2020.

The text of Regulation (EU) 2019/1791 is available here. The text of 2019/1792 is available here.