Residues of pesticides in food and feed

Traces of pesticides

Pesticides are used when growing crops and during storage of produce to protect against weeds, fungi, and insects. As a result, residues may be present in food and feed. In the EU, maximum residue limits (MRLs) have been established. Samples are taken and analysed in the laboratory to check compliance with these legal limits.

Specific expertise

WFSR has extensive experience and knowledge of pesticide residue analysis in food and feed commodities, as well as the associated legislation. This includes analytical method development, validation and quality control, and quality assurance of Official Laboratories (Ols). OLs are involved in the analysis of samples taken in the frame of official EU and national control and monitoring programmes.

As NRL, WFSR advises the Dutch government on technical matters within the NRL domain, and it acts as an intersection between the four* European Union Reference Laboratories (EURLs) and the OLs.

Every year, WFSR participates in workshops and proficiency tests organised by the EURLs. This helps to keep our knowledge up-to-date, and the quality of our analyses is independently verified. It also ensures that the results from different official laboratories in the EU are comparable.

* the four pesticides EURLs are:

• EURL-FV (fruit/vegetables): University of Almeria, Spain.
• EURL-CF (cereals and feed): Danish Technical University (DTU), Denmark.
• EURL-AO (products of animal origin and products with high-fat content): CVUA-Freiburg, Germany.
• EURL-SRM (pesticides requiring a dedicated ‘single residue’ method): CVUA-Stuttgart, Germany.