The aim of the priority campaign ‘Pesticide residues in dried spices from third countries’ was to carry out enhanced monitoring of plant protection product residues in and on spices. More than half of all RASFF notifications concerning spices in recent years were attributable to pesticide residues. In a number of cases, active substances not authorised across the EU and with a concerning toxicological potential were detected. The primary objective was to supplement the national monitoring data regarding compliance with the statutory maximum residue limits for this product group and to submit it to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for exposure assessment.

57 samples were analysed, of which 12 were found to be non-compliant (corresponding to a non-compliance rate of 21.1 per cent):

• 12 samples were rejected due to unequivocal exceedances of maximum pesticide residue limits. Of these, based on the expert exposure assessment, two samples each of Szechuan pepper (origin: China) and one sample of cumin (Egypt) were classified as ‘harmful to health’, whilst six samples (3x turmeric – origin: India; 2 samples of black pepper – originating from Madagascar; 1 sample of Sichuan pepper – originating from China) were assessed as ‘unsuitable for human consumption’. Of particular note were the multiple residues found in the samples assessed as harmful to health. Very high residue levels were detected for at least 26 different active substances; more than half of these (between 16 and a maximum of 21 active substances in a single sample) are among those banned across the EU
• In five food samples labelled as ‘from organic farming’, residues above the analytical limit of quantification were confirmed, and the competent authority was asked to investigate the cause. In one sample of cardamom originating from Guatemala, the statutory maximum residue limit was also unequivocally exceeded, resulting in a complaint being lodged regardless of the outcome of the investigation into the cause.