Subject: Pests and pesticide residues on citrus fruit from South Africa and Argentina consumed in the EU
For the fourth year in a row, the Union of Farmers of the Valencian Autonomous Community has detected phytosanitary products that are banned in the EU on citrus fruit from South Africa and Argentina. The active substances in question, such as carbendazim, have been banned in the EU since 2016. The organisation also found other substances that can be used legally provided that, when sold, the maximum residue level on the produce is equal to zero. Therefore, there was a failure to comply with that requirement.
Other problems were also identified, such as the presence of citrus black spot (Phyllosticta citricarpa), a fungus that can be transmitted to citrus fruit intended for fresh consumption, thus reducing their value. It is important to note that production for fresh consumption represents 65% of local production.
Despite the controls in place in the EU, some countries do not have a protocol for the minimum percentage of imported lots to be analysed, which puts consumers and the Spanish agricultural sector in a vulnerable position.
1. What initiatives will the Commission put in place to improve border control standards and prevent the entry of third-country produce contaminated with pests or phytosanitary products that are banned in the EU?
2. What checks does the Commission carry out to ensure that exporting countries have performed reliable controls of residues of phytosanitary products that are banned in the EU?
Submitted: 11.11.2022
Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission
(5 January 2023)
The safety of European consumers is a priority for the Commission. Food products placed on the EU market, regardless of their origin, must comply with Maximum Residue Levels (1) (MRLs) for pesticides.
Member States are monitoring compliance with MRLs based on an EU-coordinated multi-annual control programme and risk-based national control programmes.
In 2020 (2), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported the MRL exceedance for carbendazim for only 0.2% of the sampled citrus fruits from South Africa and Argentina for which appropriate enforcement action was taken by Member States indicating that the control system is functioning properly and ensures consumer safety.
Citrus fruits originating in South Africa and Argentina are subject to Regulation (EU) 2022/63 2 (3), which strengthened the import requirements against the introduction of citrus black spot and requires physical checks at EU borders.
In addition, the Commission performs audits (4) in the exporting countries to make sure that their competent authorities are capable of overseeing compliance with EU rules and standards.
⋅1∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32005R0396 — :~:text=Regulation%20%28EC%29%20No%20396%2F2005%20of%20the
%20European%20Parliament,amending%20Council%20Directive%2091%2F414%2FEEC%20Text%20with%20EEA%20relevance. ⋅2∙ European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), “The 2020 European Union report on pesticide residues in food”, EFSA Journal 2022; 20(3):7215. ⋅3∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32022R0632 ⋅4∙ https://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/audit_reports/index.cfm