§ Mr. WeirTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research her Department has carried out to determine the level of pesticide residues in food within the UK; what checks are carried out on imported foods to determine the level of pesticide residues; and what plans she has to introduce statutory targets to reduce the use of pesticides in food production. [73202]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Government conducts a wide-ranging annual surveillance programme for pesticide residues in food including imported food. Some 4,000 samples are analysed annually and the programme generates results for over 100,000 pesticide/commodity food combinations. All the results are published on a website: www.pesticides.gov.uk/committees/PRC/prc.htm
The Maximum Residue Levels regulations apply equally to imports. Additionally, the general provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 apply at all times. The food safety requirements are that food must not have been rendered injurious to health; be unfit; or be so contaminated—whether by extraneous matter or otherwise—that it would be unreasonable to expect it to be sold in that state. These legislative controls are backed up by the monitoring programme described above. Around half of the samples tested are of imported food.
The Government has no plans to introduce statutory targets to reduce the use of pesticides in food production