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Quarter of surveyed food violates Brazil agchem residue rules
Nov. 25, 2014
Not less than 25% of the food submitted for analysis showed pesticides not allowed for the type of plant or above the legal limits. This is pointed out by a survey released by Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) that tested over 1,397 samples of zucchini, lettuce, kidney beans, corn meal, tomatoes, and grapes in 2012. The good news is that only 2% contains residual levels above the limits permitted. However, the big problem is the lack of registered pesticides for some minor crops. Around 21% of the vegetables have shown pesticides not allowed to use on them and no other violation. Another 1.9% contained the same plus an approved pesticide above permitted limits.
The zucchini was the vegetable that showed a higher number of irregularities, where 48% of the samples were considered unsatisfactory. Of the 229 samples analyzed, 25% has pesticides not allowed for this crop and 2.2% have residues above the maximum residue limits (MRLs). The next is the lettuce with an index of 45% of violation, followed by grapes (29%), tomatoes (16%), kidney beans (7.3%) and the corn meal (2.9%).
According to Anvisa, the incorrect use of pesticides happened because farmers are lack of information or the unavailability of specific products in the market. Therefore, the agencies, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Brazil edited a norm this year to increase pesticides registration for crops with few options in the market.
In absolute figures, 229 samples of zucchini were analyzed, 240 of lettuce, 245 of kidney beans, 280 of corn meal, 246 of tomatoes and 229 of grapes. The program analyzes food samples every year. There are 25 types of food assessed every three years, changed for each cycle.
Source: AgroNews
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