Germany's ongoing debate about pesticides and maximum residue levels has come into sharp focus in the last few days thanks to a report from the food safety ministry which effectively counters allegations made by Greenpeace.
BVEO, the association of German fruit and vegetable growers' organisation, welcomed the ministry's findings, which said that only 14 out of more than 17,500 samples taken in 2006 might pose a health risk and that information about these occurrences were passed onto the European Commission.
Greenpeace, the campaigns organisation, claimed that fresh fruit and vegetables in Germany were treated with illegal pesticides and that the practice had been covered up by BVL, the German Ministry of Consumer Protection and Food Safety. Its claims were based on the food monitoring data in 2006 now available on the BVL website.
In a statement circulated this afternoon, the BVEO welcomed the BVL's position on MRLs and pesticides monitoring and called for European harmonisation of pesticides standards and practices by 1 September 2009. It said the sharp decline in MRL excedences showed the efforts growers were making to produce safe food.
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