engleski

Pesticide residues on food of plant origin in Croatia

Pesticides (biological, biotechnical and/or chemical) are regularly used in plant production. Considering their toxic and/or repellent effect on plant pests and weeds, they present a health risk on food consumers. Maximum residue level – MRL (mg active ingredient/kg of food) is the maximum content of the residues of certain pesticides in or on treated plants and plant products which must be determined when these products are put into circulation on the market. National monitoring programs for pesticide residues are the food safety indicators in the EU member states. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) collects and interprets the results of monitoring programs from different member states. Results from Croatian national monitoring program show lower share of samples that had measurable residues above the analytical reporting level but below or at the MRLs, than average results that EU member states reported to EFSA. Those results could be the consequence of two scenarios: a) analyzed food is safer for consumer than EU average, or b) results from Croatian national monitoring program are misleading if they are not sufficiently detailed. Anyhow, Croatian residues monitoring program should be enhanced by analyzing all the active substances that are currently available on Croatian market.

food safety, pesticide residues, monitoring, MRL, health safety

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