Overview of recent EU legislation and activities which have lead to a reduction of pesticide use and helped to reduce use of “non approved “ pesticides

During the last 5 years cases of non approved pesticides being found as residues in European produce resulted in the industry accelerating the move towards the implementation of IPM and stricter controls in the use of pesticides. The case of isofenphos-methyl residues in Spanish peppers during 2006 and 2007 was an example of this, prompting rapid changes in the local agriculture. The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) in the EU distributes information about potentially harmful residues to all Member States, so that they act quickly with their own controls and monitoring systems. Supermarkets also took a stronger line with the occurrence of detectable residues in produce, often requiring produce to be “residue-free”, and for farmers to adopt strict assurance schemes and protocols.    At the same time as the industry was bringing in its own systems to reduce pesticide residues and introduce better traceability of produce, EU legislation was also being developed related to pesticide approval and use. The publication on 24 November 2009 of Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 repealed Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC, and took effect on 14 June 2011    The Sustainable Use Directive (2009/128/EC) was published at the same time as Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides.    The Directive 2009/128/EC establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides is due to be transposed by Member States by 26th November 2011. The objective of the Directive is to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides by implementing a plan for risk and use reduction, to promote IPM, and introduce non-chemical effective alternatives.