Frequently Asked Questions

It is easy to forget that our food faces many attacks from pests such as insects, fungi and weeds, during the farming cycle. For example, at the garden level it is easy to observe damage that different pests can do to plants, fruits and vegetables. Applied to the whole agricultural and farm level, the damage caused can be very important in terms of yields, of quantity and quality of food to be available on the market, and in terms of farmer’s income. In order to produce sufficient safe and healthy food of high quality it is necessary to tackle such pests.

Crop protection combines innovative science and technology to protect farmers’ crops from the many dangerous pests and diseases that threaten the quality and safety of foodstuffs. Without adequate use of pesticides, farmers would quickly find their crops infested, diseased and damaged making them either low in yield or unmarketable. Farmers could therefore suffer significantly reduced incomes or go out of business.

There is much concern among consumers about food safety. We question the ways in which food is produced, and we tend to focus on the very beginning of the food chain: the crops on the fields. It seems that the pesticides farmers use to spray their crops with are especially called into question. And it is not surprising to see the media publicize statements such as “pesticides are harmful to man and the environment and they may even cause illness” – though too often without founded arguments.

Farming without pesticides yields much less than conventional farming - 20 to 50 percent less in the case of vegetables, up to 60 to 70 percent less in the case of cereals, and even 75 percent when potatoes are involved. Moreover, organically grown crops are more labour-intensive and require more arable land than conventional crops.

So, speaking of a healthy diet and the cost of it, it seems that using pesticides to protect crops is the better choice if we want to promote a large consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables also among those people who find it difficult to make ends meet.

The following links lead to websites offering a wealth of information about food, its nutritional value and its costs:

• European Food Safety Authority 
• Institute for Food Science and Technology
• EC Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection 
• International Life Sciences Institute 
• EISA (European Initiative for Sustainable Development in Agriculture)

The crop protection industry is involved in many programmes, at a national and EU level, to train farmers and to continuously improve the use of plant protection products. ECPA has initiated a number of products on safe use, and is currently working with the European Commission to develop strategies to reduce potential for pesticides entering surface water (point source contamination).

As opposed to conventional farmers, organic farmers do not use synthetic products such as fertilisers and pesticides. Instead they apply crop rotation, manure, compost, biological pest control, pesticides produced naturally mainly by plants and mechanical cultivation to keep the soil productive and control pests.

Yes, organic farms use pesticides based on natural chemicals and minerals. For example copper and sulphur are approved for use in organic farming as an fungicide. Copper is used on fruit and vegetables suspectable to mildew. The famous Bordeaux Mixture is a copper sulphateand lime mix which was invented in the wine region of Bordeaux to fight Downy Mildew in the 19th century.

Europe (in fact, Earth in general) is suffering an overall decline in biodiversity - this includes pollinator species such as bees. Most people think about the honey bee when pollination or 'bees' are referred to; actually there are 20,000 or more species of bee and countless other pollinator species, including beetles and butterflies.

As an industry we have a particular interest in the welfare of pollinator species such as the honey bee.

If you would like to learn more about pollinators, pollination and what agriculture can do to help conserve and even enhance their species population, then have a read of our 'Pollinators and Agriculture' publication here.

At the simplest level the use of pesticides safeguards the productivity levels of the land in use. This means that less land needs to be brought into production, and that natural habitats can be left undisturbed.

Moreover, through significant research, the crop protection industry can demonstrate that products are specific to their target, and don’t affect beneficial insects which play a key role in the environment, and therefore ensure harmony with nature.

The need to produce food must be balanced by the need to protect the environment: The crop protection industry invests heavily in researching and developing products that are target-specific, short-lived and do not accumulate in the food chain.

Pesticides are extensively and carefully tested and assessed before they are authorised for use and products presenting unacceptable risks are not developed or authorised. Reducing the total volume of pesticides is not an effective way of further reducing risk. However ensuring good practice in use, and developing more accurate application methods, both help to reduce waste and improve the effectiveness.

Pesticides, whilst providing healthy yields and enabling farmers to respond to increasing food demands of the growing population , also help limit the area of land used for agriculture, thereby reducing the pressure to encroach on other lands, whether wetlands, nature areas or forests, reducing incentive for deforestation, for example.

Organic farmers claim that their way of growing crops is better for wildlife, soil, water and the environment in general. One of their arguments is that they use manure and compost instead of nutrient salts (manmade fertilisers). But, crops can't feed on manure and compost in its raw state. The first thing nature has to do with manure and compost is to break it down into nutrient salts - i.e. fertiliser.

Organic farming yields less per square metre than traditional farming - this means much more land is needed to feed us. If Germany were to totally convert to organic farming, it would require an extra 6,8 million hectares. That is as much land as farmers use in Portugal and Sweden together.

Fresh fruit and vegetables do not come cheap. But the truth is that for many people, even in rich countries, they would be almost unaffordable if farmers were to ban pesticides from their fields. Why?

In the absence of pesticides, pests and diseases can devastate harvests and seriously reduce the amount of food produce the farmer can bring to market – and with soaring prices as a result of high demand while offer is low.

But even without such disasters pesticides make our daily food affordable. This becomes very clear when we compare the price of conventional fruit and vegetables to that of so-called 'organic' crops which are more expensive due to the fact that they require more labour and produce lower yields.

A basket of fresh fruits and vegetables from conventional farming costs 6.61 euros. For the same amount from organic farming you have to pay 16.81 euros. This means that a family eating the recommended daily portions of fresh fruit and vegetables from organic produce has to pay 321.30 euros more per month than if they were to choose conventional produce.

A residue is a very small trace of pesticide that sometimes remains on the treated crop. The majority 58.5% in 2006) of food does not contain any pesticide residues. When they do occasionally occur, these foods are still completely safe to eat as the residue levels set by European legislation are set well above any level of concern and include wide safety margins.

Watch our webinar on pesticide residues and MRLs.

Click here for the European Commission’s regulation on pesticide residues (Regulation 396/2005) (pdf).

Click here for the Commission response to Parliamentary question on MRLs and soft drinks.

Together with other food chain partners, ECPA works towards achieving the lowest possible levels of pesticide residues in food as well as protecting farmers who use them. The food chain industry has set up targeted training programmes for farmers to ensure targeted, safe use of pesticides. This is key to achieve this goal. “I understand that consumers are concerned about the food they eat and I am too. That is why I have been following specific trainings on the safe, effective and sustainable use of pesticides” says Xavier Mardelet, a farmer in France.

Efforts are constantly underway to ensure that clear and concise instructions are displayed on the label. ECPA is committed to the sustainable use of pesticides “as little as possible, as much as necessary”.

The Annual Pesticide Residue Report is established by the European Commission and reports on residues contained in food in all EU Member States. Based on scientific criteria, it tests a food basket composed of the most commonly eaten commodities in Europe. While some core foods are tested each year, the rest of these vary. (In the 2006 report, the following 8 commodities have been tested: aubergines, bananas, cauliflower, grapes, orange juice, peas (fresh/frozen, without pod), peppers (sweet) and wheat.)

Click here to learn more about European legislation monitoring residues on food.

Watch our webinar on pesticide residues and MRLs.

Demand for renewable energy, some of which can be met from crops, is reducing the amount of land available for food production and having a price impact. In the longer term increased global wealth and population growth will also put pressure on agricultural production. Initially increased demand could be met by bringing more land into production, but land is a finite resource and ultimately we have to address maximising yield potential. The challenge is therefore to maintain current yield in the face of climate change and to increase yields to match growing demand.

Pesticides will be one key factor in maintaining current levels of productivity with changing pest/weed pressures and seeking to further minimise losses from pests and weeds so that crops can realise their potential. Currently pesticides enable farmers to supply healthier, more abundant crops allowing food manufacturers and retailers to offer food that is affordable to all consumers. If the world’s farmers today had the yields they achieved in 1950, the world would need nearly three times as much cropland, which is neither desirable nor feasible with a growing population.

Contrary to popular belief, evidence shows organic food is not more nutritious than conventional food. The fact is that when scientists analyze both types of food and count the nutritious elements in it, they find no difference. The way crops are grown - organically or conventionally - has nothing to do with the quality. Instead, Canadian food experts say that the nutritional value of food depends on genetics, availability of water and sunlight, the maturity when harvested, how long it took to come to market and whether it is handled and refrigerated properly.

It is easy for us to believe that organic food is free of chemicals, since the farmer does not use any synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. But the fact is that nature is full of chemicals. Cabbage contains 49 natural chemicals, for example. Most of these 'natural' chemicals are good for you, but some of them are not. The plant produces them to protect itself against insects and diseases - fortunately, in such low quantities that they pose no real danger. Besides, in some cases organic food does contain manmade chemicals. These are derivations of chemicals naturally produced by plants or animals to protect themselves, or that are present in the environment anyway, such as the natural fly-killer pyrethrum.

Food security often refers to the availability of food, and an indivuals access to food. A person might be considered 'food secure' if they do not live in hunger or with a fear of starving.

Further than hunger and starvation, food security may also refer to the availability of sufficient nutrition to gurantee a healthy diet, avoiding the health implications of malnutrition.

Meeting demand and avoiding wastage - Pesticides ensure a healthy crop and limit crop losses by keeping crops free of pests and diseases as they grow and during storage and transportation. For some foods, such as potatoes, the losses of yield would reach up to 75% if no pesticide were used (See E.-C. OERKE, Crop losses to pest, Journal of Agricultural Science (2006), 144, 31–43. f 2005 Cambridge University Press ).

Over 35% of the world’s food supply would be lost without the use of crop protection products.

There will be 1.5 billion more mouths to feed by 2020. Pesticides will help to ensure that the productivity of the land can feed these people sustainability. Crops that are physically damaged can have reduced nutritional value. For example, apples affected by scab have lower levels of sugars, malic acids, minerals and vitamins; cereals damaged by mildew, rust, Septoria blotch, or competition from weeds have reduced starch, protein and mineral levels.

Pesticides and pharmaceuticals are the most thoroughly tested chemicals in the world, and only those that pass through strict government testing are authorized for use. Rigorous scientific assessments ensure that their use is safe both for human health and the environment. Any residues present on crops are also scrupulously and regularly assessed to ensure that food is safe for consumption.

To learn more from the European Commission on Plant Protection Products (PPPs) and food safety, click here.

In certain cases, crops that aren't sprayed with pesticides generate their own natural poison as a defence mechanism to protect themselves against diseases. These 'natural' toxins can be harmful to man too. Before food regulations were introduced a century ago, food was frequently contaminated by microorganisms, such as fungi, which produce poisons often harmful to man.

Crops are continuously attacked by thousands of species of weeds, plant diseases, insects, worms, fungi, moulds, viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. These pests and diseases have caused epidemics and crisises in Europe. For example, late blight caused the Potato famine in Ireland in the 18th century and powdery mildew in French grapes in 1954 reduced wine production by 75%.

Pesticides help to provide us with a choice of fruits and vegetables of high quality and sufficient availability all year round . A diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps prevent cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. To reap those benefits, the World Health Organisation recommends eating 400g of fruits and vegetables per day. Pesticides play a key role in keeping the price of food affordable so that families of all income ranges can afford it. The UK Food Standards Agency states “by protecting crops, pesticides help to provide a plentiful supply of food all the year round. If pesticides were not used, this could affect the availability and prices of food”.

A maximum residue level or MRL is the maximum amount of residue legally permitted on food. Once residues are demonstrated to be safe for consumers, MRLs are set by independent scientists, based on rigorous evaluation of each pesticide legally authorised. They act as an indicator of the correct use of pesticides, and ensure compliance with legal requirements for low residues on unprocessed food. MRLs are trading standards used to ensure that imported and exported food is safe to eat. In practice, they allow the free movement of goods within the EU and from the rest of the world.

Watch our webinar on pesticide residues and MRLs.

For a particular pesticide, a 68 kg man would have to eat 3,000 heads of lettuce every day of his life to exceed the level of a residue that has been proven to have no effect on laboratory animals.

In the same way, for another pesticide, an 18 kg boy would have to eat 534 apples every day of his life to exceed a residue level that is not dangerous to laboratory animals. And an 18 kg girl would have to eat 13,636 kg of carrots every day of her life to exceed such a level.

Since 1st September 2008, MRLs are now established by an independent scientific authority at European level. ECPA welcomes this, as it enhances the transparency and harmonization. In practice, one MRL is set for one crop and one pesticide in all EU countries. It also provides wider options for farmers to use the best suited pesticide for their crop. MRLs are not safety limits. In practice, they are set at levels low enough to ensure that safety margins protecting the consumer are not reached. For more info on two specific safety values used, the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) and the Acute Reference Dose (ARfD).

Click here to learn more about European legislation monitoring residues on food.

The latest annual residue report confirms that the vast majority of food tested (96%) contained no residues or residues below the MRL. Very occasionally, residues occur at levels above MRLs, 4.4% in the latest report. This can happen because pesticides are not applied correctly or because exceptional climatic or crop conditions occurred, for example a hot humid summer with high incidence of fungus in crops. Because of the very wide safety margins used while setting MRLs, residue levels above MRLs do not usually mean that there is a concern.

Watch our webinar on pesticide residues and MRLs.

Daily consumption of a range of fruits and vegetables helps to protect you against cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. As highlighted by the UK Pesticide Residues Committee, scientific evidence shows that the health benefits far outweigh any concerns about pesticide residues. This is also confirmed by several National Health and Nutrition programmes.

Peeling or washing fruits and vegetables can reduce pesticides residues. While washing is a matter of hygiene, peeling is not indispensable. Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) authorised for food, which are established by independent scientists and authorised by Authorities, are set on the basis of food crops that are neither peeled nor washed. It is also important to note that the peel of several fruits and vegetables contains the majority of vitamins.

Watch our webinar on pesticide residues and MRLs.

Water protection takes a very high priority in EU policy-making with regard to pesticides. Before any pesticide can be sold, safety must be proven to the satisfaction of EU and national authorities. Companies must aim to develop products that do not appear in ground and surface water when used correctly by the farmer. In fact, the level of pesticides legally allowed in drinking water in the EU is equivalent to one in ten billion.

To give you an idea of how small an amount this is, it is the equivalent of four millimetres of the entire length of the equator.

Following the detection of multiple residues, some people ask “will a food which might have residues from more than one pesticide have an effect on my body or my health?” Many studies have been carried out to answer this question. The evidence shows that there is no concern for health from combined effects. This is because the trace amount of residues is extremely low or nonexistent. You can be reassured about the quality and safety of your food.

Endocrine disrupter is a term used by a number of government authorities and international advisory bodies to describe a natural or synthetic chemical that effects the functioning of the endocrine system (there is no officially and internationally agreed definition).

The endocrine system is a complex set of glands, hormones and receptor cells, which helps control the development, growth, reproduction and behaviour of animals and humans. An endocrine active substance is a chemical that only produces a temporary, adaptive response in the endocrine system but with no long-term adverse effects. Examples of endocrine active substances include natural hormones from animals and humans (e.g.estradiol, testosterone, insulin, epinephrine); natural substances, e.g. plant constituents (phytoestrogens); synthetic hormone drugs (i.e. substances developed to obtain a specific hormonal action, e.g. the female birth control pill).

The greatest potential source of exposure is through naturally-occurring hormones, like in soy products (milk, beans, yogurt), barley, vegetables, and in other natural products, which are a normal part of our daily food basket. Compared with the concentration of hormones released from these natural biological sources, synthetic chemicals, including plant protection products, account for a very low proportion of the total potential exposure.

The new EU regulation on the placing on the market of plant protection products, introduces endocrine disruption, which is a hazard-based criteria, as an immediate ban criteria (“cut-off criteria”). However, substances showing endocrine disruption properties can be subject to a derogation and be approved for maximum 5 years if it can be shown that the substance can be used safely and is “necessary to protect plant health”.

The ECPA position on endocrine disruptors can be found on our 'position papers' page at http://www.ecpa.eu/information-page/regulatory-affairs/position-papers

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations defines Integrated Pest Management as follows:

"Integrated Pest Management (IPM) means the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or minimize risks to human health and the environment. IPM emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms".

The FAO promotes IPM as the preferred approach to crop protection, considering it as a "pillar of both sustainable intensification of crop production and pesticide risk reduction".

IPM is a system of farming designed to be sustainable, it involves using a combination of cultural, biological and chemical measures, including plant biotechnology. IPM should provide a cost effective, environmentally sound and socially acceptable method of managing diseases, insects, weeds and other pest in agriculture.

No, IPM is not another name for 'organic'.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations includes the following in its definition of IPM:

"Integrated Pest Management (IPM) means the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques..."

IPM makes use of advanced techniques for pest management including pesticides, such as those used in conventional and organic agriculture.

The Council of EU Ministers has adopted Regulation 1107/2009, replacing Directive 91/414 governing the placement of pesticides on the market.

The directive regulates the placing of crop protection products on the market and harmonises national product approval requirements throughout Europe. Before being placed on the market, all active substances are evaluated at EU level, and the products containing the approved active substances are evaluated at national level, by taking into account specific local variations in climate, cropping and diet.

Both EU and national evaluations are performed by highly qualified and independent scientists. The key criterion to decide whether the pesticide shall be authorised or not, is a thorough scientific assessment of any possible risks to health and environment. 

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC came into force on the 14th of June 2011.

For a detailed overview of the European situation, read our publication 'Registering plant protection products (pesticides) in the European Union' at http://www.ecpa.eu/information-page/regulatory-affairs/publications-regulatory-affairs

The approval of plant protection products is strictly regulated by EU rules which are the most stringent ones, together with the regulation of medicines. Pesticides also follow stringent quality checks in the factory, at every stage of the process until the end product is ready for transport. Factories need the necessary ISO standards (eg. 9001). The packaging shall also comply with strict EU rules, and is carefully checked to ensure the integrity of the product.

To meet international regulatory requirements, and before they can be sold, pesticides must undergo extensive testing. This involves between 250 and 300 individual studies which take many years to complete.

The first step in the evaluation of a substance is to understand its intrinsic properties ‐ the hazard. This includes conducting studies to identify any endocrine disruption potential, and to determine any adverse effects which may occur as a result.

The second step is to evaluate the levels to which people or animals are exposed, and to conduct a risk assessment. Clearly, when there is no exposure there can be no risk, regardless of the properties (hazard) of the substance concerned.

Currently there is no internationally agreed, scientific definition for endocrine disrupters (ED), nor clarity on the many proposed tests that may be used. Therefore it is important to realize that ED is a mechanism not an endpoint, and that chemicals demonstrating any ED potential should not be banned without risk assessment, to avoid regulatory decisions that are scientifically unsound and unworkable in practice. It is important that regulatory decisions to approve or to restrict the use of a chemical are made on the basis of sound science and not on subjectivity or political agendas.

It is essential to make the difference between endocrine disrupters and endocrine active substances.

Decisions must be based on the principles of risk assessment, considering both hazard and exposure.

Pesticides, also known as crop protection products or plant protection products are the treatments used to protect crops and keep them healthy, thereby ensuring a high level of quality food. They are the equivalent of medicines for plants, protecting them against attack by pests and diseases. They are available for use in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and gardening. They are applied to the seed, the soil or the crop in a variety of forms but most commonly as a spray.

Crop protection products belong to three main types:

• Herbicides (to control weeds) 
• Insecticides (to control insects)
• Fungicides (to prevent or cure infections and diseases)

Pesticides are also known as crop protection products or plant protection products (PPPs). They are treatments used to protect crops and keep them healthy, thereby ensuring a high level of quality food. They are the equivalent of medicines for plants, protecting them against attack by pests and diseases. They are available for use in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and gardening. They are applied to the seed, the soil or the crop in a variety of forms but most commonly as a spray.

Crop protection products belong to three main types:

• Herbicides (to control weeds)
• Insecticides (to control insects)
• Fungicides (to prevent or cure infections and diseases)

Pests and diseases can dramatically reduce food crop yields or render them uneatable. Using pesticides allows us to control pests and diseases on developing food crops (e.g. fruits, vegetables and cereals) – and also during storage. By protecting crops as they grow and during storage, pesticides help ensure a high quality and quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables which keeps the cost of them at affordable prices for consumers.

Pesticides operate in a global market and they can only be placed on the EU market if they meet the stringent EU rules. With the loss of crop protection solution in the EU, the more likely scenario is that imported food would replace home-grown food, as farmers in non-EU countries would be able to use a wider range of pesticides and hence to produce more efficiently than EU farmers. This raises all sorts of questions about the safety of imported food which is regulated by different rules, about transport of food, food production techniques, labour and environmental problems etc.

Non-chemical solutions for pest control such as pheromone traps and predator insects play an important role in food production. Pesticides are complimentary to these solutions and there are clear indications that these alternatives are often more effective in conventional agriculture programmes than they are in organic farming.

Organic farmers use a variety of technical aids in food production, allied to methods that have evolved over centuries and this includes the use of pesticides.

The question of whether there is an overall environmental and health benefit from organic farming has not been resolved and, as such, it remains a matter for consumer choice – however it appears that rates of organic food production will not allow us to effectively supply a growing population with its demands for food, feed, fibre and fuel. Organic farming needs 65–200% more land to produce the same amount of food.

The active substance (‘AS’) of a pesticide is the material within the pesticide responsible for its activity against pests, weeds or fungal diseases. AS are sometimes referred to as active ingredients (‘AI’). The plant protection product is the formulated product in its marketed form, which contains that active substance together with other compounds and is applied to the crops.

Each product has a detailed label on each package, whether it be a bottle or a bag. The label provides all the health and safety instructions to the farmer on how to handle the product. It details the way the product should be used, for example on which crop, the rate of product to be used and the frequency of applications.