Good news on agricultural chemical good practice
A year-long Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) study looking at chemical residues in fresh, unwashed produce indicates that New Zealand growers are largely following good agricultural practice (GAP) in how they use chemicals.
MPI today released test results from the second and third quarter of the annual Food Residue Surveillance Programme (FRSP). This programme targets locally-produced and imported crops prone to exceeding the maximum residue limit (MRL) set for agricultural chemicals, and crops where little data is available on chemical use. MRLs are used to determine whether growers have followed GAP.
This year’s focus is on asparagus, eggplant, feijoas, hops, lemons, olive oil, persimmons, pumpkins, spring onion, sweet corn, tamarillos and walnuts. In total, more than 350 chemicals are being tested for.
The commodities sampled in the second and third quarter included eggplant, lemons, walnuts, hops, spring onion, pumpkin, asparagus, and olive oil. No residues were found in hops and residue results for eggplant, pumpkin and lemon samples tested were all within the acceptable MRL.
Of all 247 samples tested in the two quarters, only 11 contained residues that did not comply with the relevant MRLs and none of the residues found posed health or food safety concerns.
Of all 247 samples tested in the two quarters, only 11 contained residues that did not comply with the relevant MRLs and none of the residues found posed health or food safety concerns.
“These results indicate that most growers are using pesticides responsibly in the recommended manner,” Manager Food Assurance Paul Dansted says.
The samples that had residues over the MRL or allowable limit were:
- three out of 24 spring onion samples that contained non-compliant levels of the fungicide triadimenol.
- one out of 24 asparagus samples that contained non-compliant levels of the fungicide metalaxyl and the herbicides bromacil and diuron.
- one out of 48 walnut samples contained residues that indicate it may breach the NZ default MRL for dithiocarbamates.
- two out of 48 samples of olive oil that contained levels of the fungicide difenoconazole which – when taking the processing factor into account – indicate that the raw olives would have likely breached the MRLs for those compounds.
- four out of seven tamarillo samples contained non-compliant levels of the insecticide deltamethrin. This is in line with results from quarter one. MPI staff have followed up with the non-compliant growers identified and the industry to ensure future product is compliant.
"While the non-compliant residues do not cause human health concerns, they suggest GAP may not have been followed in these instances and as a result we are following up with the growers," Paul says.
Results from this year’s FRSP are online:
Food Residues Surveillance Programme
For answers to common questions about agricultural compound residues in food see:
Notes to the editor:
A compound which is an indicator of dithiocarbamates was found in seven samples of walnuts sold as organic produce. However, we have been unable to determine the cause of these low residue levels as they can be generated by some naturally occurring chemicals in plants. Therefore it is not possible to ascertain whether the levels detected were the result of agricultural chemical use or a naturally occurring phenomenon.
Although there were no non-compliances among the lemon samples, residues of the insecticide malathion was found in one sample which was sold as organic produce. MPI has alerted the Commerce Commission to these findings.
The results for seven tamarillo samples and 24 hops samples collected in quarter one were included in the second quarter report. This is because the results for these samples were unavailable when the quarter one report was published.
Issued by:
Miriam Meister, Senior Communications Adviser
Telephone: 04-894 2466 or 029-894 2466
Email: miriam.meister@mpi.govt.nz
