CIPC Residues in Belgian Potato Storages Continue to Decrease Steadily Every Year
In a message sent to all its stakeholders regarding the implementation of Regulation 2019/989 regarding the ban on CIPC use, Belgapom explained that in the event of a ban on the use of a plant protection product for health reasons, a European regulation is usually published quickly that sets the MRL to 0.01 mg/kg (detection limit).
According to Belgapom’s experts, as a result of historical contamination in storage warehouses where CIPC was used, the Member States and the European Commission agreed to the exceptional option of a temporary MRL (tMRL) of 0.4 mg/kg (applicable on 02/09/2021 via Regulation 2021/155).
However, they added, the principle of a tMRL that gradually decreases – instead of introducing an MRL of 0.01 mg/kg – can only be maintained if the EU Member States submit annual analysis results demonstrating the need for a tMRL.
“At the initiative of the European potato processing sector federation EUPPA, and under the scientific guidance of Arvalis, an annual residue monitoring campaign is organized in several EU countries, including Belgium. The monitoring results from previous seasons have shown a decrease in CIPC residues throughout Europe, as well as compliance with the tMRL. Based on these collected data, the European Commission has lowered the tMRL to 0.35 mg/kg (EU Regulation 2023/377, applicable since 14 September 2023). It is expected that 2025 the tMRL will be further reduced to 0.2 mg/kg”, the Belgapom’s representatives said.
In the 2023-2024 season, 120 samples were taken in Belgium. The majority of these samples (92%) showed no CIPC residue. Samples positive for CIPC showed residue levels between 0.01 and 0.18 mg/kg. These samples were therefore all below the current tMRL of 0.35 mg/kg. The results show that CIPC residues in Belgian potato storage warehouses continue to decrease steadily every year. However, we must remain alert, especially if the tMRL were to decrease further from 2025.
Just like previous seasons, the data are shared anonymously with Arvalis, which draws up a final report on behalf of the PVC and EUPPA. Data is also supplied from other European countries for this purpose. The final report is reassessed every year by the European Commission, which uses this to further evaluate the tMRL.
“Once again, it was a major challenge to obtain sufficient samples. The cooperation of growers in this sampling campaign is crucial for maintaining the tMRL and is completely free of charge, given that Belgapom is the one paying. Without sufficient analysis results, the EU will scrap the tMRL and we will fall back to an MRL of 0.01 mg/kg. In concrete terms, this means that various growers would not be compliant with CIPC, with very serious consequences for both the producer and the buyer (= recalls),” Belgapom’s experts concluded.
