How the strictest pesticide residue standards will be implemented on the ground

“What is called the strictest pesticide residue standard in history” has been implemented, so that production has a standard to follow, products have a standard to be tested against, and law enforcement has a standard by which to judge. In the course of implementation, it is necessary to establish and improve grassroots agricultural product safety institutions, guide farmers in the scientific use of pesticides, strengthen the supervision of the production and use of highly toxic pesticides, and gradually achieve full-process supervision from production and circulation to use.

In August, what is called the strictest pesticide residue standard in history, the Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides in Food, officially began to be implemented. As the only mandatory national standard in China for supervising pesticide residues in food, the new standard sets 3,650 limit indicators for 387 pesticides in 284 types (categories) of food. Compared with the 2012 standard, it adds 1,357 limit indicators.

“The implementation of the new standard means production has a standard to follow, products have a standard to be tested against, and law enforcement has a standard by which to judge. From the perspective of regulating agricultural inputs, it is of great significance to the quality and safety of agricultural products,” said Chen Youquan, deputy inspector of the Planting Industry Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. He said that about 350 pesticide varieties are frequently used in agricultural production in different regions and for different crops in China, while the new standard sets limit standards for 387 pesticides, basically covering commonly used pesticide varieties.

The new standard provides a legal technical basis for ensuring the public“s “safety on the tip of the tongue.” Ye Zhihua, a researcher at the Institute of Quality Standards and Testing Technology for Agro-Products of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said, “When the new standard was formulated, the first consideration was safety. As long as agricultural production is carried out strictly in accordance with the standard, it can ensure that pesticide residues in food do not exceed the limit and will not harm consumers” health.”

The standard is already in place; the key lies in how to implement it.

First, it is necessary to establish and improve grassroots agricultural product safety institutions and strengthen full-process supervision. Ma Aiguo, director of the Bureau of Quality and Safety Supervision of Agricultural Products of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that according to legal provisions, local people’s governments at all levels bear overall responsibility for the quality and safety of agricultural products in their regions. But for a long time, the main task of agriculture has been ensuring supply, with increasing output as the top priority, and the foundation for quality and safety supervision has been relatively weak, with capacity growing weaker the further down it goes. Last year, the State Council issued guiding opinions, setting unified requirements for institutional reform and implementation of responsibilities in local food safety supervision. At present, all provincial-level agriculture departments and bureaus across the country, more than 60% of prefecture-level cities, and nearly half of districts and counties have established agricultural product quality and safety supervision institutions. Ma Aiguo said that in the future, focusing on main production areas, advantageous production areas, and major agricultural counties, and focusing on vegetable-basket products, full-process supervision should be strengthened, especially by increasing market sampling and spot checks, regulating the business behavior of pesticide enterprises, and strictly punishing pesticide violations in accordance with the law.

Second, guide farmers in the scientific use of pesticides and reduce the amount of pesticides used. The practical problem facing pesticide use in China is scattered cultivation by millions of households. Many farmers do not clearly understand the patterns by which crop diseases, insects, and weeds occur, and do not know how to use pesticides scientifically. In addition, farmers’ pesticide application equipment and techniques are backward, and pesticide use efficiency is relatively low, leading to situations in which doses are increased. For this reason, it is necessary to vigorously develop specialized unified prevention and control of pests and diseases, encourage pesticide business enterprises to vigorously promote chain operations, regulate the behavior of agents and distributors, and provide farmers with scientific application recommendations.

Third, strengthen supervision of the production and use of highly toxic pesticides. All countries make restrictions on and supervision of highly toxic pesticides a priority. In recent years, China has successively banned and phased out 33 highly toxic pesticides. At present, the proportion of highly toxic pesticides in China has decreased from the original 30% to less than 2%, and more than 72% of pesticides are low-toxicity products.

Chen Youquan introduced that the Ministry of Agriculture encourages pesticide production enterprises to actively research and develop low-toxicity, high-efficiency, and low-residue pesticide products. This year, the Ministry of Agriculture carried out pilot programs for designated sales of highly toxic pesticides in 5 provinces including Hebei, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, identified a number of demonstration counties and designated stores, implemented counter sales, real-name purchases, and electronic records for highly toxic pesticides, established a traceability system for highly toxic pesticides, gradually achieved full-process supervision from production and circulation to use, and explored the establishment of a long-term mechanism for supervising highly toxic pesticides.