EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEALTH & CONSUMER PROTECTION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEALTH & CONSUMER PROTECTION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL Directorate F - Food and Veterinary Office DG(SANCO)/ MR Final FINAL REPORT ON A MISSION CARRIED OUT IN TURKEY FROM 03 TO 07 SEPTEMBER 2007 IN ORDER TO EVALUATE CONTROLS OF PESTICIDES IN FOOD OF PLANT ORIGIN INTENDED FOR EXPORT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION Please note that factual errors in the draft report have been corrected. Clarifications provided by the Turkish Competent Authorities are given as footnotes, in bold, italic, type, to the relevant part of the report 17/01/

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS & SPECIAL TERMS USED IN THE REPORT...4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION LEGAL BASIS FOR THE MISSION BACKGROUND MAIN FINDINGS Legislation Competent authorities Controls of the marketing and use of plant protection products Authorisation of plant protection products Controls of the marketing of plant protection products Controls of users of plant protection products Formulation laboratories Controls of pesticide residues in food of plant origin Organisation of controls Approval and control of pack-houses Communication of MRLs Traceability Record-keeping of uses of plant protection products Sampling programme for pesticide residues Certification of exports Follow-up of notifications in the EU RASFF Laboratories for pesticide residue analysis CONCLUSIONS Legislation Competent authorities Controls of the marketing and use of plant protection products Controls of pesticide residues in food of plant origin Overall conclusion CLOSING MEETING RECOMMENDATIONS TO TURKEY COMPETENT AUTHORITY RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATIONS

3 ANNEX EUROPEAN LEGISLATION

4 ABBREVIATIONS & SPECIAL TERMS USED IN THE REPORT DG SANCO Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection ECD Electron Capture Detector EN European Norm EU European Union EUROSTAT Statistical Office of the European Communities FAPAS Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme FLD Fluorescence Detection FPD Flame Photometric Detector FVO Food and Veterinary Office GC Gas Chromatograph GC-MS Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer GDPC General Directorate for Protection and Control HPLC High Performance Liquid Chromatography ISO International Organisation for Standardisation LC-MS/MS Liquid Chromatography - Tandem Mass Spectrometry MARA Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs MRL Maximum Residue Level NPD Nitrogen Phosphorous Detector PAD Provincial Agricultural Directorate PPP Plant Protection Product RASFF EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed 4

5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objective of the mission was to evaluate the control system in Turkey for pesticide residues in food of plant origin intended for export to the European Union (EU). It was decided to carry out a mission to Turkey mainly in view of the large volume of vegetable and fruit it exports to the EU. There were also notifications of unacceptable levels of pesticide residues in food of plant origin from Turkey within the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). Legislation is in place for the authorisation and control of the marketing of plant protection products (PPPs), for maximum residue levels (MRLs) and their enforcement, for traceability, and for the authorisation and control of pack-houses. However, the current legislation on the marketing and use of PPPs and on MRLs are not harmonised with the EU legislation. No enforcement measures are possible for non-recommended uses of PPPs, unless residues result in a breach of Turkish MRLs. More than 25 % of the 408 pesticides contained in authorised PPPs in Turkey can not be legally marketed and used in the EU. Legislation is being developed to require growers to keep records of uses of PPPs. The controls of retailers of PPPs are effective. There is a lack of transparency for growers regarding the recommended uses of PPPs, and growers are not inspected systematically. There are no systematic export controls for pesticide residues. The control system, which also applies to produce for the domestic market, mainly consists of controls of the pack-houses for fruit and vegetables and of annual monitoring programmes for pesticide residues. RASFF notifications regarding excessive levels of pesticide residues have been followed up adequately and systematically. There is a clear and effective procedure for export certification of food of plant origin, but it applies only to those few exporters and commodities, which have been involved in RASFF notifications. In 2007, only 34 export certificates have been issued for export to the EU. The visited pesticide residue laboratories have good facilities, and qualified staff are available. The current analytical methods and equipment cover only part of the range of pesticides being used by farmers, but do not cover pesticides recently detected by EU Member States in plant produce from Turkey. Apart from the very few substances in the accredited scope, the validity of the analytical data is not sufficiently controlled. Overall conclusion There is an official control system in place regarding the marketing of PPPs and for pesticide residues in food of plant origin. However, there are no systematic export controls, and the authorised PPPs contain a substantial number of active substances, which may not be used in the EU. There are also shortcomings in the pesticide residue laboratories. Consequently, the control system does not prevent unacceptable levels of pesticide residues in food of plant origin intended for export to the EU. The report contains recommendations to Turkey to address the identified shortcomings. 5

6 1. INTRODUCTION The mission took place in Turkey from 3 to 7 September The mission team comprised one inspector from the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) and one Member State expert. The mission was undertaken as part of the FVO's planned mission programme and was the second mission to Turkey dealing with pesticide residues in produce of plant origin. The inspection team was accompanied during the whole mission by representatives from the central competent authority, the General Directorate of Protection and Control (GDPC) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA). An opening meeting was held on 3 September 2007 with representatives from the central competent authorities, the GDPC and the Under-secretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade. At this meeting, the objectives of, and itinerary for, the mission were confirmed by the inspection team. 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION The objective of the mission was to evaluate the control systems for pesticide residues in foodstuffs of plant origin intended for export to the European Union (EU). The implementation and the effectiveness of the existing pesticide residue monitoring plan were evaluated. The facilities and measures in place for the determination of such residues in foodstuffs of plant origin intended for export to the EU were also assessed to ensure that the produce is within specified limits laid down in EU legislation. As residue controls are related to the placing on the market and use of plant protection products, the control system for the latter functions was also evaluated. A further objective was to follow-up findings of the previous mission, DG (SANCO)/7077/2004, on the evaluation of official controls within the context of the above objective. The mission formed part of a wider series of missions to Third Countries to evaluate control systems and operational standards in this sector. The mission was carried out in the framework of: Regulation (EC) No 178/ ; Regulation (EC) No 882/2004; Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; Council Directive 76/895/EEC; 1 Legal acts quoted in this report refer, where applicable, to the last amended version. Full references to the acts quoted in this report are given in the Annex. 6

7 Council Directive 90/642/EEC; Council Directive 86/362/EEC; Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. In pursuit of these objectives, the following sites were visited: CENTRAL COMPETENT AUTHORITIES GDPC of MARA REGIONAL COMPETENT AUTHORITIES Provincial Agricultural Directorate (PAD) of Antalya LABORATORIES VISITED Provincial Control laboratory in Ankara Provincial Control laboratori in Antalya INSPECTION VISITS Demonstration of inspection visits by PAD inspectors to 2 pack-houses of fruit and vegetables in region of Antalya. Visit to 4 farms in region of Antalya. Demonstration of an inspection visit to a retailer of Plant Protection Products (PPP) in region of Antalya by two PAD inspectors. Comments Central competent authority for the authorisation of plant protection products and control of pesticide residues in foodstuffs. Comments Provincial competent authority for controls on marketing and use of plant protection products, and food premises inspections including pesticide controls and sampling. Comments Conducts analysis of pesticide residues in foodstuff - national reference laboratory. Conducts analysis of pesticide residues in foodstuff. Comments Companies packing and exporting 8,000 and 26,000 tonnes, respectively, of fruit and vegetables; Producers of vegetables under glass: one producer of tomatoes (2 ha), a group of vegetable growers (in total 150 ha), one producer/exporter of tomatoes/peppers (3 ha), one producer of peppers (0.5 ha). Recently established small retailer selling to growers of tomatoes and cut flowers in local neighbourhood. 3. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE MISSION The mission was carried out under the general provisions of Community legislation, in particular under Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, and in agreement with the competent authorities in Turkey. 4. BACKGROUND According to data from EUROSTAT for the year 2005, Turkey was the second largest exporter of fruit and vegetables to the EU, and some 924,000 tonnes were exported to the EU, including 241,000 tonnes of grapes (28% of all grape imports into the EU), 43,000 tonnes of stone fruit (25 % of all imports of stone fruit into the 7

8 EU), 43,000 tonnes of dried fruit (40 % of imports), 11,000 tonnes of cucumbers (40 % of imports), and 5,400 tonnes of root vegetables (29 % of imports). Since 2005, a total of 34 notifications within the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) have involved pesticide residues in plant produce from Turkey. Fourteen of the notifications relate to peppers, and the remainder to cucumbers, lemons, raisins, grapes, lettuce, beans, tomatoes and courgettes. Notifications in 2007 relate in particular to the pesticides oxamyl and methomyl in concentrations reaching up to 1.5 mg/kg of methomyl (peppers) and 0.61 mg/kg of oxamyl (cucumbers). In addition, monocrotophos and 4-CPA, which are not authorised in the EU, were detected. According to the competent authorities, the total agricultural area was 17 million hectares (ha) in 2005 and 16.9 million hectares in Some 21 % of registered fields are irrigated. 51,000 ha are cultivated under cover, including greenhouses and various kinds of plastic tunnels. In the visited province of Antalya the competent authorities stated that there are 5,800 ha of greenhouses (79 % of Turkish area covered by greenhouses) and ha of production under cover (34 % of the total Turkish area under cover). Some 48 % of exports of fruit and vegetables from Antalya are exported to the EU. The competent authorities stated that in 2005, 44,335 tonnes of plant protection products (PPP) were supplied in Turkey. In 2006, 53,860 tonnes were supplied. There are 6,198 registered retailers of PPPs in Turkey. The visited retailer of PPPs estimated that 40 % of the supplied products are manufactured in Turkey. 5. MAIN FINDINGS 5.1. Legislation Since the previous mission DG (SANCO)/7077/2004, legal enforcement powers for breaches with MRLs have been introduced by the Food Law, No The Food Law has also introduced legal requirements for traceability in the food chain. Article 16 of the Food Law stipulates that the procedures and principles related to traceability are to be specified by a Regulation, but the respective Regulation is not adopted yet. The legislation on marketing and use of PPPs has not yet been harmonised with EU legislation. Council Directive 91/414/EEC was translated and submitted to the MARA Directorate General of EU affairs. MARA expects that the harmonised legislation will be in force by June 2008, but stated that it would apply from the date of EU accession. In contrast to the EU, where authorisations for PPPs relate to the marketing and the use of these products, authorisations are granted only for the marketing in Turkey. Although the authorisation certificates contain a copy of the label of the authorised products, the recommended uses of the product are not legally binding. No enforcement measures are possible for uses, which are not recommended, unless residues result in a breach of Turkish MRLs. MRLs for pesticide residues in food of plant origin have been established by the Turkish Food Codex, Communiqué on maximum residues of PPPs in food, No Annex 2 of the document transposes EU MRLs of 2002, which will become 8

9 applicable by the date of accession. The currently applicable MRLs of Annex 1 of the document differ substantially from the EU MRLs, and have different residue definitions. Furthermore, the Turkish Food Codex does not specify for which portion of the products the MRLs apply Competent authorities Since the last mission, there was no change of competent authorities. GDPC of MARA is the central competent authority for pesticide controls. Implementation of the controls on marketing and use is the responsibility of the Plant Protection Division of the PADs. The Control Divisions of the PADs are responsible for inspections of pack-houses and sampling for pesticide residue analysis Controls of the marketing and use of plant protection products Authorisation of plant protection products Since the last mission, the number of authorised PPPs has increased from 3,006 to 3,796. The products contain 408 different active substances. For 95 of these substances, a decision on non-inclusion into Annex I of Council Directive 91/414/EEC was taken, and they can not be marketed and used in the EU. A further 11 of the 408 authorised active substances have not been authorised in the EU since The mission team did not evaluate which of the authorised substances are actually marketed in Turkey. The competent authorities estimated that approximately 1,500-2,000 of the 3,796 authorised PPPs are effectively present on the market. No official register of authorised PPPs and recommended uses is available. Information of authorisations is published by MARA on the internet ( but this information does not contain the precise recommended uses. PAD inspectors and farmers use an unofficial register, compiled by a private editor, which was found to be incomplete Controls of the marketing of plant protection products Since the last mission, an electronic system has been introduced which obliges all retailers of PPPs to record all stocks and sales of PPPs with a uniform software system with a bar code reader. The system also records information about crops and agricultural area of all customers. The competent authority stated that the system is implemented by all 6,198 retailers. In accordance with Regulation 22734, all retailers must be authorised by the PADs, and staff must be agricultural engineer or agricultural technician with at least 3 years working experience. 2 In their response to the draft report the Turkish authorities noted that "concerning the criticism that there is no definition in the legislations concerning to which parts of the product the MRLs are applied under the title of Legislation, an instruction will be prepared. In addition, it will be ensured that Turkish Food Codex - Communiqué on Maximum Residue Limits for Plant Protection Products in Foods planned to be published until the last quarter of 2008 will include the necessary arrangements related to this issue". 9

10 The mission team observed an inspection of a small retailer of PPPs in the province of Antalya. He started his business in June 2007, and has been inspected 4 times since. In the obligatory standardised software system, detailed information for 119 customers had been registered, as well as information on stocks and sales of PPPs. Two inspectors of the PAD demonstrated an inspection. The Antalya PAD has developed a checklist based on the legal requirements of Regulation In case of infringements, the retailer can be closed for one month, and in case of repetitive infringements, the authorisation of the retailer can be withdrawn. PAD reports the result of inspections to MARA every six months. In 2006, 815 warnings and 237 notices were issued, and 84 retailers were closed. There is a sampling plan for formulation analysis in 2007, which states that 848 samples of PPPs are to be taken in 10 provinces. In 2006, 217 samples were analysed and checked for correctness of the label. In 4 cases, the authorisation of the PPP was withdrawn as a result of the checks Controls of users of plant protection products Users of PPPs are not systematically inspected by PADs, but the Plant Protection Division of PAD provides advice to growers. The mission team visited three large tomato and pepper growers with recently established greenhouses, who had exported only small quantities to the EU. Two of them had been certified to a private standard by an officially approved certification body. MARA stated that they have approved 5 certification bodies for the certification to the private standard. Following the certification of the visited growers, PAD inspectors had visited them. Details of the official visit could not be evaluated, because neither the report nor the inspector who conducted the visit was available. On request of the mission team, another grower was visited, who had previously sold his produce for export to the EU. He was growing peppers in a glasshouse with a production size of 0.5 ha, which was considered as an average production size. He was also certified to a private standard, but not inspected by the PAD. Records of applied PPPs were kept and made available to the mission team. In 2006, pepper was planted in September. On 22 November, a PPP containing oxamyl was applied against nematodes, although the label only recommended uses before planting. Information on harvesting days could not be provided during the visit. The grower and his private agricultural adviser were not aware that this use was not recommended Formulation laboratories Two MARA laboratories in Ankara and Istanbul perform formulation analysis within the authorisation procedure of PPPs. The formulation analysis of PPPs sampled on the market is performed by private laboratories, which are officially authorised and supervised under Regulation Controls of pesticide residues in food of plant origin Organisation of controls There is no specific control system for pesticide residues in food of plant origin intended for export to the EU. The control system, which also applies to produce for 10

11 the domestic market, consists of authorisations and inspections of pack-houses for fruit and vegetables and of monitoring for pesticide residues. Where excessive levels of pesticide residues are notified within the RASFF, the cases are followed up by the PADs. In addition, EU MRLs are notified to the traders. In total, there are 5,500 food inspectors within the Ministry. In addition to the minimum of 2 food inspectors who are responsible for pesticide controls in each of the 81 PADs, other staff can also be charged with pesticide controls. The food inspectors have a bachelor degree and are agriculture engineers, food engineers, veterinarians, chemists and biologists Approval and control of pack-houses Under the Food Law 5179 and Regulation on production, consumption and inspection of foods, pack-houses must be authorised by the PAD before they start operations. Authorisations must also be granted for each of the processed products. For authorisation, pack-houses must submit detailed information. In the Antalya region visited, inspectors of the PAD Control Division stated that they inspect packhouses at least twice before authorisation is granted. After authorisation, packhouses are visited by PAD inspectors for taking samples, for routine inspections, or in the follow-up of RASFF notifications. Routine inspections mainly focus on general food hygiene, and sometimes samples are taken for pesticide residue analysis. The Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade informed the mission team that 616 authorised companies are involved in exports of food of plant origin to the EU Communication of MRLs The competent authority stated that the Exporters Union, a semi-official body for the promotion of trade, is regularly informed about changes of EU MRLs by the Under-Secretariat of Foreign Trade and by MARA through the PADs. The PAD in Antalya has received regular updates about changes of EU MRLs from MARA. The pack-houses visited had received information on EU MRLs from the Exporters Union or other private sources Traceability Traceability is required by the Turkish Food Law, but the implementing Regulation is not adopted yet. The traceability systems of pack-houses visited could not be evaluated by the mission team, because the pack-houses were not operational at the time of the mission due to the end of season. At pack-houses, traceability is normally not inspected, but was verified by PAD inspectors in the follow-up of RASFF notifications. PAD stated that in case of MRL infringements, the packhouse is held liable unless the operator can demonstrate traceability to the producer Record-keeping of uses of plant protection products There is no legal requirement for growers to retain records of applications of PPPs to fruit and vegetables. However, official procedures for the record keeping are currently developed in a pilot project for three commodities in several provinces, and a booklet for farmers containing a standardised form for record keeping is already available. MARA aims that from 2010 all uses of PPPs must be recorded. The visited growers were required to retain records under private certification 11

12 schemes. Record-keeping for uses of PPPs is required for food imported into the EU under Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 852/ Sampling programme for pesticide residues There are four different types of sampling activities for pesticide residue analysis. Firstly, there is a detailed annual national monitoring programme for pesticide residues, which includes the EC Monitoring Recommendation. The plan specifies the provinces, the commodities, the months, and the laboratories for the planned "monitoring samples". A total of 3,794 samples were planned for 2006, and 4,132 samples are planned for Samples are taken by PAD inspectors at producers, from sale and consumption points, from packing facilities and from production plants. Secondly, there are "inspection samples", which are taken by PAD inspectors at any time and of any product during routine inspections. Thirdly, there are "import samples" of produce to be imported into Turkey. Finally, there are "export samples". Samples of produce intended for export are taken and analysed for certification, if it is required by the recipient country. Further export samples for certification are taken from produce of exporters who were involved in RASFF notifications (see 5.3.7). In case of infringements of Turkish MRLs, the Food Law 5179 allows enforcement measures for all four types of samples. Fines can be applied, and the withdrawal of produce from the market can be ordered. In the province of Antalya visited, a total of 2070 samples were taken and analysed in 2006, i.e. 32 monitoring samples, 133 inspection samples, 1904 export samples and one import sample. In 2007, until the time of the mission, a total 3085 samples were taken and analysed, i.e. 218 inspection samples, 2867 export samples and no import and monitoring samples. The vast majority of export samples relates to exports to Russia. Sampling was demonstrated by an inspector of the PAD Antalya, and was in line with Directive 2002/63/EEC. However, the mission team detected a sample of courgettes in the MARA laboratory of Antalya, which contained only 9 units instead of 10 as required by the Directive, and by the Turkish Food Codex, Communiqué on sampling methods for official control of pesticide residues in foodstuffs (No. 2006/51) Certification of exports Where required by the recipient country, pesticide residue analysis and food safety certificates are obligatory for exports. This requirement applies only to exports to Russia. Regarding exports to the EU, exporters, who were involved in RASFF notifications, are required to have the next five batches of the same commodity analysed for pesticide residues. When laboratory results for pesticide residue analysis are favourable, food safety certificates for export are issued by PADs. The Control Division of the PAD, who is responsible for food safety certification, informs the Plant Quarantine Division of PAD that phytosanitary certificates for the exporter involved should only be issued when a food safety certificate is available. Customs only clear produce, when a phytosanitary certificate accompanies the produce. Instructions on the procedures have been distributed by MARA to all PADs on 18 April

13 In 2007, several thousand food safety certificates were issued for exports to Russia, and 34 food safety certificates were issued for exports to the EU Follow-up of notifications in the EU RASFF All 34 RASFF notifications relating to pesticide residues in Turkish produce since 2005 were received by MARA and forwarded to all 81 PADs for follow-up. MARA provided documentation on the follow-up of all 34 notifications. MARA also received information from PADs about the follow up. In Antalya, inspections were carried out by the PAD Control Division in all involved pack-houses without delay. The authorisations of the pack-houses were checked, and where authorisation was not available, the packaging companies were fined and closed. Follow-up samples were taken at the pack-houses for pesticide residue analysis. Inspectors traced back the produce to the producer. In a case documented in Antalya, inspectors traced back the produce through a broker, who was also inspected, to the growers. PAD Control Division informed the PAD Plant Protection Division, who is responsible for providing advice to growers. The Plant Protection Division tried to visit the growers involved, but the growers were not always met as their production had ended by the time of the RASFF notification. PAD Antalya required all exporters involved to obtain food safety certificates for further five consignments to be exported to the EU of the commodities involved in the RASFF. Samples were taken of subsequent consignments of the involved exporters, and in one case, a further MRL exceedance was detected. The produce was destroyed, and the General Prosecutor was informed. Neither oxamyl nor methomyl, which were involved several times in RASFF notifications regarding Turkish vegetables in 2007, can be detected by the MARA laboratories in Ankara and Antalya. The mission team noted that the sampling protocols of the follow-up samples did not contain any information that these pesticides should be analysed for. The concept of a group MRL for Solanacea (including peppers and tomatoes) in Annex I of the Turkish Food Codex was not understood by the PAD inspectors in Antalya 3, and for this reason a MRL breach of a RASFF notification for methomyl in peppers was not identified Laboratories for pesticide residue analysis Organisation Under Regulation 25854, 16 governmental laboratories of MARA and 8 private laboratories are approved and supervised by MARA for analysis of pesticide residues. In 2006, three official and three private laboratories carried out analysis of produce exported to the EU, including the official laboratories in Antalya, Ankara and Izmir. Six of the official laboratories and two of the private laboratories are accredited according to ISO for pesticide residue analysis. The mission team 3 In their response to the draft report the Turkish authorities noted that "concerning this issue, an explanatory instruction related to the interpretation of the Communiqué in question will be sent to the Provincial Directorates." 13

14 visited the MARA laboratories in Ankara and Antalya. Both of them are accredited with pesticide residue analysis being under the scope of the accreditation Resources and training The laboratories have good facilities. Qualified and trained staff are available. In both laboratories the staff is sufficiently qualified and is sufficient to operate the current operating instruments. However, further training and resources would be necessary to introduce LC-MS/MS equipment and expand the analytical scope, as planned Analytical spectrum and methods Both laboratories are equipped with GC and ECD/NPD/FPD detectors which are operational and routinely used for pesticide analysis. GC-MS (Quadrupol) is operational in both laboratories but used for confirmation in scan-mode only at the moment. HPLC-FLD equipped with a post-column derivatisation unit for the analysis of N-methylcarbamates (e.g. oxamyl, methomyl) is available in both laboratories, but the method is currently not operational in either of these laboratories. In addition, the laboratory in Ankara is equipped with HPLC with UV detector for analysis of carbendazim and benomyl but this method is not used routinely. In Ankara the Quechers method (EN 15662) and in Antalya the Luke method (EN 12393) is used for extraction followed by GC-ECD, GC-NPD and GC-MS analysis. Samples are routinely analysed for 108 or 142 substances respectively, of which only 7 compounds are included in the accreditation. Validation of the methods for further substances has recently started in Ankara, but was not done in Antalya due to a recent great increase in the number of samples for export to Russia. A further extension of the analytical scope is restricted by the lack of LC-MS/MS equipment. The period between sampling and reporting of the analytical results was 1 to 3 days for export samples, and up to two weeks for inspection samples Quality assurance systems Checks for recovery and the use of control charts to monitor quality parameters are only implemented for the pesticides covered by the accreditation. Quality control procedures do not follow the EU Guideline for Quality Control Procedures for Pesticide Residues Analysis (SANCO/10232/2006) 4 regarding matrix matched standards, regular recovery checks, multi-point calibration, re-analysis for confirmation, and quality checks of standards. Estimation of uncertainty is not mentioned in the sample report. Participation in Proficiency Tests by FAPAS with a small number of analytes has taken place in both laboratories with generally acceptable results

15 6. CONCLUSIONS 6.1. Legislation (1) Legislation is in place for the authorisation and control of the marketing of PPPs, for MRLs and their enforcement, for traceability, and for the authorisation and control of pack-houses. (2) The current legislation on the marketing and use of PPPs and on MRLs are not harmonised with the EU legislation. (3) In contrast to EU Directive 91/414/EEC, authorisations are granted only for the marketing of PPPs, but not for their use. No enforcement measures are possible for non-recommended uses, unless residues result in a breach of Turkish MRLs. (4) Legislation is being developed to require growers to keep records of uses of PPPs. The keeping of such records is required for food imported into the EU under Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 852/ Competent authorities (5) The competent authorities are clearly defined. There was no change since the last mission Controls of the marketing and use of plant protection products (6) The list of active substances contained in authorised PPPs is not harmonised with Annex I of Directive 91/414/EEC and Commission Decisions on the noninclusion of active substances in this Annex. The recent RASFF notifications regarding the pesticides monocrotophos and 4-CPA indicate that some of the authorised PPPs, which cannot be legally marketed and used in the EU, are used in Turkish produce exported to the EU. (7) The control system of authorisation and frequent inspections of retailers of PPPs, combined with the electronic control system for the retailers, is an effective tool to control the marketing of these products. The system can also help to prevent and follow up unauthorised uses of plant protection products. (8) There is a lack of transparency for growers regarding the recommended uses of PPPs. (9) There are no systematic inspections carried out at users of PPPs Controls of pesticide residues in food of plant origin (10) There is no specific control system for pesticide residues in food of plant origin intended for export to the EU. The control system, which also applies to produce for the domestic market, consists of controls of the pack-houses for fruit and vegetables and of annual monitoring programmes for pesticide residues. 15

16 (11) RASFF notifications regarding excessive levels of pesticide residues were followed up adequately and systematically. There was evidence for good communication between central and provincial authorities, and a satisfactory level of follow-up inspections and enforcement measures. Follow-up sampling is also performed, but the effect is limited as some of the applied pesticides, in particular oxamyl and methomyl which were recently involved in RASFF notifications, cannot be detected by the laboratories visited. (12) There is a clear and effective procedure for export certification of food of plant origin, but it applies only to those few exporters and commodities, which have been involved in RASFF notifications. (13) Changes of EU MRLs are regularly and appropriately notified to exporters. (14) The sampling procedure for pesticide residues analysis broadly follows Directive 2002/63/EC. (15) The pesticide residue laboratories visited have good facilities, and qualified staff are available. The current analytical methods and equipment cover only part of the range of pesticides being used by farmers. Apart from the very few substances in the accredited scope, the validity of the analytical data is not sufficiently controlled Overall conclusion (16) There is an official control system in place regarding the marketing of PPPs and for pesticide residues in food of plant origin. However, there are no systematic export controls, and the authorised PPPs contain a substantial number of active substances, which may not be used in the EU. There are also shortcomings in the pesticide residue laboratories. Consequently, the control system does not prevent unacceptable levels of pesticide residues in food of plant origin intended for export to the EU. 7. CLOSING MEETING A closing meeting was held on 7 September 2007 with the competent authorities. At this meeting, the main findings and conclusions of the mission were presented by the inspection team. The representatives of the competent authorities offered some initial comments and provisionally accepted the preliminary findings. 8. RECOMMENDATIONS TO TURKEY In relation to pesticide residues in food of plant origin intended for export to the European Union, (1) Turkey should continue to harmonise legislation with the EC legislation. (2) Turkey should consider improving the control system for fruit and vegetables intended for export to the European Union, in order to guarantee that the produce complies with, or is equivalent to, European Union standards in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 178/

17 (3) Turkey should consider broadening the scope of analytes sought and continue to improve the implementation of quality control schemes in the pesticide residue laboratories so as to improve the effectiveness of the controls for pesticide residues. The competent authorities of Turkey are invited to send an action plan in response to the recommendations to the Commission within 25 working days of dispatch of the report. This action plan should clearly set out the manner and deadline by which the competent authorities will address each recommendation. 9. COMPETENT AUTHORITY RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATIONS The competent authority s response to the recommendations can be found at: as soon as this report is published. 17

18 ANNEX EUROPEAN LEGISLATION European Legislation Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Directive 76/895/EEC Directive 90/642/EEC Directive 86/362/EEC Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 Regulation (EC) No 2076/2005 Directive 2002/63/EC Official Journal OJ L 31, 01/02/2002, p OJ L 165, 30/04/2004. Corrected and republished in OJ L 191, 28/05/2004 p OJ L 165, 30/04/2004. Corrected and republished in OJ L 226, 25/06/2004 p OJ L 340, 09/12/1976, p OJ L 350, 14/12/1990, p OJ L 221, 07/08/1986, p OJ L 70, 16/03/2005. p OJ L /12/2005. p OJ L 187, 16/07/2002, p Title Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety. Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules. Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs. Council Directive 76/895/EEC of 23 November 1976 relating to the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on fruit and vegetables. Council Directive 90/642/EEC of 27 November 1990 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables. Council Directive 86/362/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on cereals. Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 maximum residue levels of pesticide in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2005 of 5 December 2005 laying down transitional arrangements for the implementation of Regulations (EC) No 853/2004, (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Regulations (EC) No 853/2004 and (EC) No 854/2004. Commission Directive 2002/63/EC of 11 July 2002 establishing Community methods of sampling for the official control of pesticide residues in and on products of plant and animal origin and repealing Directive 79/700/EEC. 18