Following a unanimous vote of the 28 Member States in March 2016, the European Commission decided to include Turkish lemons on Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009, as they are considered to be a risk product due to the presence of pesticide residues. In this regard, Turkish lemons imported into the EU during the new 2016/2017 campaign starting now will thus be subject to special and increased controls by European control authorities, including laboratory analysis.
The cited Community Regulation establishes a list of food products (Annex I) subject to an increased level of official controls at the point of entry in the European Community. This list is revised regularly on the basis of the results of the application of the Regulation, notifications from the EU's rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF), reports from the European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office, results of national monitoring programs, reports and data received from third countries, etc.
In the particular case of Turkish lemons, their inclusion on the list of risk products published in Regulation (EU) 2016/443, is a result of the detection in 2015 of 10 batches containing elevated levels of biphenyl residues. Analyses confirmed levels as high as 8.56 mg/kg despite the MRL set by EU legislation for this substance in lemons at the detection limit (0.01 mg/kg).
Increased controls at community customs checkpoints are thus advisable in this regard in light of successive reports from the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 repeatedly confirming the deficiencies of the official Turkish control system on the marketing and use of phytosanitary products, many of which are banned in the EU, coupled with the very low official sampling of batches exported and the limited number of suitably accredited laboratories.
Further, the most recent report from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) published in 2015 regarding citrus fruit production in Turkey should also be kept in mind, since it confirmed that the greatest challenge facing citrus fruit exporters in Turkey was precisely the high presence of pre- and post-harvest pesticides.
The Spanish lemon and grapefruit interbranch organization, Ailimpo, has underscored that “this is an express, official acknowledgment by the European Commission of the risk of lemons from Turkey insofar as non-compliance with Community legislation regarding pesticides”, likewise considering that “this EU decision provides clear information for distribution chains and European consumers by pointing out the problems facing Turkish lemons in satisfying EU food safety standards and therefore confirms the superior guarantee provided by Spanish lemons”.
For more information:
Ailimpo
Tel: +34 968 21 66 19
Fax: +34 968 22 09 47