Pesticide residues in baby foods

Citation

Jukes, D. (1999), "Pesticide residues in baby foods", British Food Journal, Vol. 101 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj.1999.070101aab.018

Pesticide residues in baby foods

Pesticide residues in baby foods

European Commission Directive 91/321/EEC on infant formula and follow-on formula, and Directive 96/5/EC on baby foods, require that these foods shall not contain any substance in such quantity as to endanger the health of infants and young children, and that maximum levels for such substances are established without delay. To fulfil this obligation the European Commission has developed proposals to amend these Directives and set maximum limits for pesticide residues in these foods. They will be presented for Member States to vote upon at the December meeting of the EC Standing Committee for Foodstuffs.

The proposals will replace the present Article 6 in both Directives. The additional clauses will require that:

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  the maximum levels of pesticide in the specified foods shall not exceed 0.01mg/kg (with analytical methods to be generally acceptable standardised methods);

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  pesticides to be listed in a new Annexe shall not be used in agricultural products intended for the production of the controlled foods (no pesticides are listed in the draft versions of the Annexe).

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  A new Article 6A will be inserted into both Directives which will define pesticide residue as the residue in the controlled products of a plant protection product, as defined in Article 2.1 of Directive 91/414/EEC, including its metabolites and products resulting from its degradation or reaction.