WRITTEN QUESTION E-3903/00

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(13 December 2000)

Subject: Damage to children's brains caused by neurotoxins used in farming as crop protection products

1. Is the Commission aware that crop protection products used in the cultivation of fruit and vegetables are strengthened after they are combined following human consumption and that because of the effect they have on the human nervous system they can harm the development of the brain?

2. Can the Commission confirm that the current rules within the European Union for determining maximum values for the amount of neurotoxins in food are based on the impact of each poison individually, but that insufficient account is taken of the consequences of combining different types of toxins?

3. Can the Commission also confirm that, in contrast to the more stringent American standards, the rules currently in force in the European Union on neurotoxins take no account of the great vulnerability of children?

4. Can the Commission confirm the research findings of the leading Dutch organisations Consumentenbond and Stichting Natuur en milieu which show that grapes from Greece and Italy contain on average four or five sorts of toxin including, on average, one neurotoxin, with the result that roughly one third of grapes from those countries would be unsuitable for consumption by children in accordance with American standards, and that the situation regarding French apples is comparable?

5. What is the Commission doing to prevent the sale of fruit and vegetables polluted by neurotoxins and to ensure that the standards within the European Union are as strict as those applied by the United States?

(Source: Consumentengids, vol. 48, no. 12 December 2000)

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(17 April 2001)

The Commission is aware that the consumption of different commodities may lead to the cumulative uptake of residues but considers that the current authorisation system for crop protection products provides for adequate safety margins, particularly when combined with the constant monitoring of actual residue levels in food.

The Commission confirms that the current regulatory system for pesticide residues in food is generally based on the assessment of intakes of individual active substances from all dietary sources. The Commission does not agree with the view of the Honourable Member that insufficient account is taken of the consequences of combining different types of toxins since this is done wherever possible with the available accepted methodologies. Such methodologies are continually under review and the Commission actively encourages their improvement.

The Commission does not agree with the view of the Honourable Member and can ensure him that European standards are no less stringent than American standards. Risk assessment includes both hazard and exposure considerations and the resulting overall level of protection is defined by the conservatism applied when both parameters of this calculation are combined. Although the American hazard assessment may be, at times, more conservative than the European one, this is offset by more conservative European exposure estimates. The special situation of children is fully considered when the Commission sets standards in this area.

Without access to all the underlying data the Commission cannot comment on the publication of the Dutch Consumentenbond stichting Natuur en Milieu. However, the Commission is aware that experts from the Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sport have evaluated the publication and found its conclusions to be misleading and not supported by the data. The results of national and Community-co-ordinated monitoring programmes for pesticides residues in cereals, fruit and vegetables consistently show that 98 % of the samples taken do not contain residues above the Community standards. In the cases where maximum residue levels (MRLs) are exceeded (similar to the American rate), assessments indicate no threat to health. The Commission and Member States make every effort to bring this number down further.

Community and national monitoring programmes provide information on compliance with MRLs, which is used in enforcing the relevant legislation. In addition, the Commission is developing harmonised guidelines in order to further improve reporting by Member States of infringements of MRLs of pesticides in foodstuffs of plant origin through the Rapid Alert System. This will ensure that action is taken on a more consistent basis, providing all consumers in the Community with the same level of protection.