Asean farm ministers expand list of agri products subject to pesticide residue limits

Farm ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are pushing for the inclusion of more fresh agricultural produce that will be subjected to higher maximum residue limits (MRLs) of pesticides.

In the recent 27th senior officials meeting of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry, the region’s agricultural leaders endorsed an additional 104 MRLs of pesticides for various fruits, vegetables and cash crops. This, brings the total number of MRL values endorsed by AMAF to 559.

"There is really growing concern about food safety, and exporting ASEAN countries like the Philippines for instance, would do well to ensure that it complies with more stringent MRL imposed by importing countries like Japan," said Joseph Sison, Philippine agricultural attaché in Tokyo.

Most farm-based economies of the ASEAN export fresh agricultural produce to Asian countries like Japan, China and South Korea.

Just recently, Japan imposed a lower MRL of 0.03 parts per million (ppm)for the chemical cypermethrine.

Sison said cypermethrine is among toxic chemicals that could be eventually banned as the Japanese health authorities imposed new and tougher food safety standards by Japan’s Food Safety Commission (FSC) which sets new MRLs for imported fresh agricultural produce.

"Philippine mango producers should take this matter seriously or they could face an outright ban of their products in the same manner that the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry (MAFF) banned mangoes exceeding the MRL set for the pesticide chlorypyrifus," said Sison.

Earlier this year, Japanese health authorities banned a number of fresh mango shipments from the Philippines after quarantine inspectors discovered these shipments exceeded the MRl for Chlorypyrifus.

An initial positive list of MRLs for more than 700 compounds prepared by the FSC and Japan’s Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare will be revealed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by 2006.

Currently, Japan follows Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) international residue standards if it does not have a MRL established for a particular chemical. If CAC does not specify a residue limit on a chemical, Japan usually defers to US standards.

Cypermethrine, like chlorpyrifos, is a restricted pesticide which is also used as a termicide. Its improper use is known to cause cholinesterase inhibition in humans. It can overstimulate the nervous system causing nausea, dizziness, confusion, and at high exposures, respiratory paralysis, and death.