Pesticide residues in food of plant origin from Southeast Asia - A Nordic project

•We have studied the amount of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables from Asia.•721 samples were collected from 63 different commodities.•Totally 111 pesticide residues were detected.•Results above the MRLs were found in 14% of the samples.•Some products were assessed to represent possible acute health risk for consumers.

Fruits and vegetables from Souteast Asia were analysed for the presence of pesticide residues. A total of 721 samples of 63 different commodities were collected in 2011. The products were imported to Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden from ten countries; about 80% were imported from Thailand. The reason for the increased control for certain food products from Southeast Asia was that the official control had revealed many products with too high levels of pesticide residues. In 60% of the samples we did not find any residues, while 28% had residues below or at the MRLs. Results above the MRLs were found in 12% of the samples. In comparison 6% of surveillance samples from third countries and 1.5% of surveillance samples from the EU and EFTA countries exceeded the MRL in the EU monitoring program in 2011. The estimated acute intake was higher than 100% of the ARfD in several samples and some of the products were assessed to represent possible acute health risk for consumers.