Beijing, China
July 31, 2014
A stricter standard on pesticide residue for farm produce in China will take effect on Friday.
The new standard includes 3,650 indices detailing the maximum allowable residue for 387 pesticides on 284 types of food, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Health and Family Planning Commission, which jointly issued the standard.
Compared with the current standard that took effect in 2012, the new standard contains 1,357 new indices covering 65 new pesticides and 43 new types of food.
The standard covers vegetables, fruits, grain, edible oil, sugar, soft drinks, nuts, eggs and meat. It includes juice and preserved fruits for the first time.
Of the indices, about 67 percent relate to vegetables, fruits and tea, which are more prone to pesticide contamination.
A total of 1,999 indices in the new standard have international references set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, founded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, and 1,811 match or exceed the strictness of the international standards.
The stricter standard is expected to give regulators more leverage to fight malpractice.
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