Abstract:

The increase of global demand for agri-food products, based on a limited natural resource pool, has led to the development of conventional agriculture, which requires pesticides control measures. The monitoring and permanent limitation of pesticide residues in the food provided to the population is a national priority. European food legislation includes strict measures on the control of pesticide residues, for the protection of the environment and consumer health. In Romanian, the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority has the responsibility for national monitoring plan of pesticides residues food market. The paper proposes an analysis of the pesticide incidence in food products marketed in Romania, by using the reports of the national institutions and Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed portal. In the period 2011-2016, 28,686 samples of food collected from the domestic market were processed and analysed. In 25% of samples the presence of pesticide residues has been notified, over 300 products have exceeded the maximum permitted levels. 90% of non-compliant products have been imported from third countries, especially from Turkey. At European level, only 10 notifications on the presence of pesticides in food originating in Romania were recorded during the analysed period. The research could be useful to increase food safety in Romania, and for the business environment, to imports food products that complies with and European requirements.