§ Sir Richard BodyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what checks are made for pesticide residues in products intended for sale to consumers; and what research is being carried out to ascertain the effect of such residues on people.
§ Mr. RyderMonitoring is carried out by the Government's working party on pesticide residues and the results are published. This monitoring involves the analysis of some 2,000 to 3,000 samples of home produced and imported food and agricultural produce per year, with individual samples being examined for a wide range of pesticide residues at a cost of over £1 million.
Before a pesticide is approved for use its likely effect on consumers is assessed if its use is shown to leave residues in food. Approval would not be given if this assessment suggested any risk to the health of consumers.