Survey finds high pesticide compliance rates for AU apples and pears
The survey, which is run by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, sampled 282 apples and 94 pears in 2015-16, which were analysed against Australian standards for the levels of pesticides and veterinary medicine residues in Australian food products.
The overall compliance rate in 2015-16 was 97.9 per cent for apples, up on 95.9 per cent in comparison with the previous year and 95.7 per cent for pears, which was slightly down in comparison with the previous year, which was 97.8 per cent.
A department spokesman said in the past 10 years the Australian apple and pear industry had shown a high degree of compliance with the Australian standards.
“This demonstrates that the Australian apple and pear industry use in-crop and post-harvest agricultural chemicals in accordance with good agricultural practice, which assures international markets of the excellent residue and contaminant status of Australian apples and pears,” the spokesman said.
source: weeklytimesnow.com.au