E024:08 17 April 2008

School fruit and vegetables: Autumn term 2007 results of pesticide residues testing

Latest results from the Pesticide Residues Committee’s (PRC) programme of pesticide residue testing in fruit and vegetables supplied to school children in the Autumn 2007 term have been published today. They show that none of the samples tested contained pesticide residues above the legal trading level.

Dr Ian Brown, chairman of the PRC, said:

"The results should reassure parents that the fruit and vegetables their children eat continues to be safe. I cannot emphasise more strongly that the positive effects of eating fresh fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced healthy diet far outweigh any concern about pesticide residues."

Tests carried out on 58 samples of six different fruit and vegetables showed that 16 samples did not contain any detectable residues, and 42 contained residues within the legal trading level, the maximum residue level (MRL). None of the samples tested contained pesticide residues above the MRL. Risk assessments concluded that the residues detected were unlikely to affect the health of children eating the produce.

Dr Brown continued:

"None of the results in the Autumn Term gave the PRC any concern for consumer health. They show that these fruit and vegetables supplied to school children either do not contain detectable residues or where residues are found they are in accordance with legal limits."

The PRC is an independent body which advises Government, the Food Standards Agency and the Pesticides Safety Directorate. The PRC carries out the SFVS testing to check that the fruit being given to school children is safe in respect of pesticide residues.

The MRL, or maximum residue level, is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue - expressed as milligrams per kilogram, or parts per million - legally permitted in or on our food and animal feeds. The levels are not safety limits, but are set at levels which protect the consumer. They are primarily a check that good agricultural practice is being followed, and an MRL exceedance does not automatically imply a hazard to health.

The full report ‘School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme Autumn 2007 Term’ is available online at www.pesticides.gov.uk/prc.asp?id=826

Notes for editors

1. The PRC produce the report of the residue testing programme conducted on fruit and vegetables supplied under the Department of Health’s School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme on a termly basis. The Pesticides Safety Directorate is responsible for organising the survey of fruit and vegetables supplied under this scheme.
2. The PRC is an independent body which advises Ministers, the Pesticides Safety Directorate and the Food Standards Agency. Dr Ian Brown (OBE, BSc Agric, FRCP, FFOM) is consultant occupational physician and toxicologist at Southampton University Hospitals.
3. Find out more about the PRC and its work via its website: www.pesticides.gov.uk/prc_home.asp.  Further information about the PRC’s work on the SFVS is at http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/prc.asp?id=826
4. Information about the school fruit scheme can be found at www.5aday.nhs.uk/sfvs/about/default.aspx 
5. The Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) transferred from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the Health and Safety Executive on 1 April 2008.

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