The Global Coalition of Fresh Produce Releases ‘Fruits and Vegetables – Global Value Chains Explained’

The Global Coalition of Fresh Produce has released its third Briefing Note in a series on “Fruits and Vegetables – Global Value Chains Explained”, focusing on the safety of fruits and vegetables (see attachment).

CONTENTS

The Briefing Note addresses uncertainties about residues of agrochemicals in fresh produce, demonstrating that fruits and vegetables are not only tasty and nutritious—they are also perfectly safe to eat. In nearly every country across the world, regulators exert tight control over the approval and use of agrochemicals, and over the level of chemical residues that is allowed to remain on or in fruits and vegetables. The Note:

·   Demonstrates the crucial role played by agrochemicals in protecting agricultural productivity and ensuring food quality and safety—especially in the face of climate change;

·   Highlights the tight control exerted by regulators over agrochemical use, through comprehensive legislative frameworks for registration, labelling, and application;

·   Shows that the setting of residue tolerances—the amount of chemical residue allowed to remain in or on each type of produce—is subject to rigorous risk assessment processes and incorporates wide safety margins;

·   Argues that the lack of globally harmonized standards for chemical residues acts as a significant barrier to trade. Growers must meet differing standards for each import market, creating a complex regulatory environment and increasing production and transaction costs.

CONCLUSION

This Briefing Note shows that consumers can feel confident when buying and eating fruits and vegetables, no matter where they are grown. The thresholds set by regulators for chemical residues in fruits and vegetables incorporate 100- to 1000-fold safety margins, even for the most vulnerable consumer groups, and are rigorously enforced.

Alarmist messages about pesticides in fruits and vegetables command much media coverage, but are based on flawed methodologies that do not include a scientific risk assessment. Usually focused on provoking fear, these reports fail to consider that the mere presence of a residue on a fruit or vegetable does not mean that that fruit or vegetable is unsafe to eat. With consumers in both low- and high-income countries eating far too few fruits and vegetables already, one of the most troubling implications of these reports is their potential to dissuade people from eating fruits and vegetables that are perfectly safe.

The real risk is not pesticide exposure but not eating enough fruits and vegetables!

FURTHER ACTION

The global fresh produce industry is firmly committed to providing consumers worldwide with a wide range of healthy and safe fruits and vegetables. Growers are rapidly developing and implementing innovative solutions and technologies to reduce the use of agrochemicals. This trend is further driven by an increasingly stringent regulatory approach to the use of agrochemicals and growing demand from consumers for sustainable and healthy food.

At the same time, policymakers should streamline and align legislative frameworks governing the use of agrichemicals, ensuring that product approval and tolerance setting are based on science-based principles and harmonized international standards.

The Global Coalition of Fresh Produce calls for continued action, collaboration, and knowledge sharing between the global fresh fruit and vegetable industry, policymakers, and other stakeholders to identify gaps in current efforts, develop strategies for improvement, and leverage our products’ beneficial attributes for society and the environment. To join us on our journey, visit our website at www.producecoalition.net or contact us at info@producecoalition.net.