2007 Peppers Survey: Introduction
7 June 2007
PRC Secretariat
When will results be available?
We will publish results as soon as we can and link them from this page.
We don't know how complex the results and necessary follow-up action will be so publication may not fall into a set pattern.
We can send you an email when results are about to be published. Please email us at prc@hse.gsi.gov.uk if you would like to be added to our mailing list.
Why is the PRC surveying peppers in 2007?
We monitored peppers in 2006, as part of an EU-wide survey. That was a routine survey and the results did not indicate any systematic or unexpected problem. Normally we would not have monitored peppers again for a few years.
However in late December 2006 we were told through the EU RASFF system that isofenphos-methyl, a pesticide that has never been approved in any EU member state, had been found in peppers grown in the Almeria region of Spain and tested in Germany. After receiving that first alert other member states, including the UK, were able to look again at raw results for samples they had taken and tested during 2006. Although these samples had not been tested for isofenphos-methyl some laboratories who use the very latest analytical techniques could identify residues of isofenphos-methyl once they had been provided with technical information about this chemical.
We will be surveying peppers again in 2007. This replaces a planned melon survey, which will now be surveyed in 2008 or 2009.
What is isofenphos-methyl? Why didn't the PRC test for isofenphos-methyl in 2006?
Isofenphos-methyl is an organophosphate (OP) pesticide which would be effective against a wide range of insect pests. It appears to be widely used in China, and media reports suggest the material used in Almeria also came from China.
Isofenphos-methyl is an obscure substance; it is not listed in standard English-language reference books and has never been approved in any EU member state. Also we had no intelligence (e.g. from monitoring reports produced overseas) that we needed to test for it. As far as we are aware no routine government testing in any EU member state included tests for isofenphos-methyl, and the first people to test for it did so based on rumours circulating in Almeria. Initially even when they started looking for it many official laboratories were only able to confirm its presence, not to measure it, because they did not have the necessary reference material.
Is there a safety concern?
So far no member state has found residues at a level which suggest a possible risk to people who might eat the peppers.
Although no EU member state has data supporting a registration or has even found very much data at all about isophenfos-methyl, these is enough scientific data available about the chemically related pesticides isofenphos and isofenphos-ethyl for toxicologists to consider.
PSD will prepare risk assessments on any residue found, as they do for any pesticide detected where there is no MRL. And as normal the Food Standards Agency will look at the risk assessment before publication.
Are you testing other produce for isofenphos-methyl?
Yes. All PRC laboratories now have the necessary reference material and this pesticide will now been analysed for in all PRC fruit and vegetable surveys.
How has this survey been funded?
This survey replaces a planned survey of melon.
Are you only targetting Almerian or Spanish produce?
We will collect as many Spanish samples we can while they are in season, but we are also collecting samples from other countries. We are aware that because of the isofenphos-methyl issue many suppliers and retailers have decided to change their supply route for peppers.
Samples are being taken at wholesale markets and at points where produce arrives in the UK as well as from retail outlets.
What types of peppers are being surveyed?
All types of fresh peppers except chilli peppers.