A month after increasing controls on Turkish lemons to 20%, the EU has adopted a similar decision for Turkish grapefruits. The European Commission informed Ailimpo of this decision, which is only pending publication in the Official Gazette's amendment to Annex 1 of Regulation 2019/1973.
Since the start of the campaign in September, Ailimpo had recorded 4 alerts in Turkish grapefruits due to the presence of pesticides banned in the EU (chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl). This unprecedented situation confirmed the deficiencies of the official Turkish control system on the marketing and use of phytosanitary products. At the same time, Ailimpo requested the European Commission to adopt urgent measures.
The European Commission reacted quickly and decided to increase the official control of Turkish grapefruits to 10% (previously only random controls were carried out without a minimum percentage). Now, 1 in 10 Turkish grapefruit trucks entering the EU will have to be subject to strict pesticide analysis border controls. This measure is expected to come into effect at the end of December.
The European Commission confirmed the seriousness of the situation stating that “in relation to the consignments of grapefruit from Turkey, the data resulting from the notifications in the RASFF, and the information regarding the official controls carried out by the Member States indicate the emergence of new risks to human health, due to possible contamination by pesticide residues. Thus, it's necessary to demand a higher level of official control on these consignments. Therefore, the entries of this merchandise from Turkey must be included in Annex I of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, setting their frequency of identity and physical checks at 10%.”
Ailimpo's assessment
The Spanish lemon and grapefruit interprofessional organization, Ailimpo, has expressed its satisfaction with the European Commission's speedy decision. "This is undoubtedly an important decision to defend the interests of European consumers and to strengthen the position of Spanish grapefruit produced under the highest guarantee standards."
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