The European Union maintains stringent standards for accepting foreign-grown products into its market. This includes products from the Dominican Republic, a major exporter of organic bananas to Europe. While the frequency of physical controls on Dominican green beans was reduced from 50% to 30% over the past year, there are still concerns regarding at least two products under special observation.
Between 2020 and 2023, 18 notifications were registered on a digital platform of the European Commission, involving eight countries that raised observations, some of which included alerts or rejections of Dominican fruits and vegetables due to elevated pesticide levels.
These notifications are considered lower than in previous years, but they underscore the importance of adhering to European standards. Notable incidents include Germany, where a shipment of eggplants was destroyed for exceeding allowable pesticide levels, and Belgium, which rejected a shipment of pineapples due to pesticide residue above accepted parameters.
Source: dominicantoday.com