The hope of eliminating pesticide residues banned in Europe but allowed in food imported from non-EU countries is faltering. The organization Pesticide Action Network (PAN) denounces in an open letter dated 6/22/21 that the Council of the European Union (composed of the national ministers responsible for the matter) is not fulfilling what it promised. (1)
Pesticides in imported foods, the case of ethylene oxide
The case of the carcinogenic pesticide ethylene oxide represents the problem well. This agrotoxic is banned in Europe; however, it is allowed as a residue in imported foods, as we have seen. (2) And this is not an isolated case.
According to a 2020 survey conducted by PAN Europe, 74 pesticides banned for use in the EU due to health and environmental concerns were found as residues in 5,811 samples of food imported from non-EU countries.
A disturbing result that endangers the health of European consumers, harms the environment and biodiversity outside the borders of the Old Continent, and subjects farmers to unfair competition.
Stop the poisons in and out of the EU
Precisely to eliminate health risks at the root, but also to protect the environment within and outside the borders of the European Union, more than 70 civil society organizations have signed the call to eliminate the use of the most dangerous molecules everywhere. To prevent European companies from doing business by selling the agrotoxics banned here to non-EU countries (see the paraquat case) and to ban the presence of the poisons as residues on food imports bound for Europe.
The European Commission’s response in December 2020 was encouraging. The EU executive had recalled the importance of its role vis-à-vis non-EU countries and its progressive policies-the Green Deal and the Chemicals Sustainability Strategy-said it was considering various options for implementing what was required, including a review of legislation. (3)
The broken promises
Six months after that commitment, the scenario becomes dark again. Despite its commitments,‘the Council is now completely walking away from its word,’ PAN Europe denounces.
‘We stronglycondemn this backward step by the Council, which cannot be justified by any valid reason, including WTO (World Trade Organization) compliance,’ denounces Salomé Roynel, PAN Europe activist.
Who really decides?
One aspect worthy of the greatest attention is the political will behind the work of European institutions.
‘In the Council discussions during the German presidency, no member state had opposed this revision of tolerances’ to pesticide residues in imports, stresses PAN Europe activist Salomé Roynel.
‘We analyzed the individual comments of member states on this point, thanks to a request for access to documents, and found that no member state has expressed explicit opposition in the past. (…) Some have openly supported this approach (Austria, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden), while others have not commented at all‘.
‘But now that it is time to partly transform this commitment into legally binding action (in the CMO regulation), [(Common Market Organization, ed.] the Council, under the Portuguese presidency (January-June 2021, ed.), is hypocritically shirking its responsibilities.’
Marta Strinati
Cover image taken from Pesticides: le coronavirus n’arrête pas Bayer-Monsanto, BASF et Syngenta. 4/17/20, https://www.foodwatch.org/fr/actualites/2020/pesticides-le-coronavirus-narrete-pas-bayer-monsanto-basf-et-syngenta/
Notes
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
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