Is Our Food Safe?

Plant protection products (PPPs) are in most countries extensively regulated and a huge bundle of required studies need to be submitted to receive a country registration. 

Before a plant protection product is submitted to an authority to be registered, it undergoes up to 10 years of testing and safety evaluation by Bayer. Before submission, Bayer evaluates the tests and makes risk assessments. Once we are satisfied that it is a safe and effective product, we submit all our data to the authorities. They can spend up to 2 years reviewing and making their own safety assessments before granting registration. After a product is registered, authorities continue to monitor the use of the product to ensure continued safe use. In many countries, authorities do a complete re-review of the product data every 10-15 years to be confident of the product’s safety, often asking for updated or extended data. 

After registration, authorities frequently monitor for residues of plant protection products on domestic & traded goods. Foodstuffs that have residues above the maximum allowable limit are not allowed to be sold and can be either destroyed or sent back to the country of origin. 

Farmers and suppliers use plant protection products according to product labels (recommendations made by Bayer and endorsed by the regulators) and keep records of all treatments. Finally, Bayer interacts with farmers and other users to ensure the product is being used safely (i.e. as recommended by Bayer).

A lot of different studies need to be provided to grant a registration for a plant protection product. Beside safety studies for the environment, ecosystems and workers also the safety of consumption of treated food is an important area of investigation. Beside trade enabling and support activities the Bayer Dietary Safety department focuses on the safe use of plant protection products and their residues in food. 

The studies steered by this department investigate the type and levels of residue that humans or animals might be exposed to when they consume foods derived from commodities treated with a plant protection product. 

Traces of crop protection products or their metabolism / decomposition products might still be present in or on food at harvest. These are called residues. 

To evaluate the exposure of humans to crop protection products, their residues in crops for human consumption are investigated.

Before a plant protection product can be approved for use in agriculture, its residues are measured in all types of food that you can buy in a grocery store:

• In directly treated cops (primary crops)
• In foods grown in fields where pesticides have been used previously (rotational crops)
• In foods that have been processed in any way (cooked, peeled, etc.)
• In products from animals (eggs, milk, meat etc.) that have eaten treated crops

Primary Crops

These are the crops that have directly been treated with a plant protection product. Residues from that treatment are measured.

For the tests the products are applied to relevant crops in line with Good Agricultural Practice, and this is repeated in 8 to 24 individual trials. 

Samples of appropriate food and feed products are taken at various intervals and are analyzed for their residue levels.

Afterwards, the data are evaluated to better understand the residue behavior of the pesticide.

When a product is registered, all the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) information is included on the product label. Farmers using the product must comply with the instructions on the label.

Residues in plants are first investigated through metabolism studies conducted under controlled greenhouse conditions.

In these studies, biological systems (such as plants, animals, and soil) are exposed to a plant protection product. Scientists then examine the metabolites – these are any potential breakdown products that occur during metabolism. 

With this information, scientists can identify the main residue components that need to be monitored during field residue studies.

Substance-related study information for primary crops can be found in the summary documents for residue studies on our website.

Rotational Crops

Farmers often rotate crops to preserve the quality of their soil. This means that they plant different types of crops in the same field in succeeding seasons. 

Rotational crops are crops that have been planted in a field where a plant protection product has been applied to a previous plantation.  For example: a farmer plants soybean and treats them for insects, later he plants corn in the same field.  Will the corn have residues of the insecticide used previously on the soybean crop? 

Despite not having been treated themselves, rotational crops are tested for residue levels that they may have been taken up from the soil from past plant protection product use.

These tests are done for plants seeded from 30 days until up to one year after application of the pesticide.

Substance-related study information for rotational crops can be found in the summary documents for residue studies on our website.

Processed Foods

Many foods are not only eaten raw, but also in a processed form, for example: fruit or vegetable juices, or ketchup containing tomatoes, beer made from barley, and oil made from soybeans.

To assess what happens to residues during processing, scientists process raw agricultural commodities like tomatoes or cereal grain using typical industrial or household practices, for example frying, boiling, baking, fermenting, or pressing. The final products are then analyzed for their residue content.

Substance-related study information for processed food can be found in the summary documents for residue studies on our website.

Animal Products

Animals may be fed with crops that have been treated with a plant protection product. We investigate all the residues that could be transferred to animal products such as milk, meat, and eggs.

Scientists, therefore, conduct studies where animals ingest the plant protection product and/or its decomposition product at levels which are relevant to normal farm animal feed. The resulting animal products are then analyzed for their residue levels.

Beside these residue studies in farm animal products also residues in honey are investigated.

Substance-related study information for animal products can be found in the summary documents for residue studies on our website.

Did you know that plants and other food ingredients can be harmful if consumed raw or in large amounts?

Rhubarb leaves are inedible as they contain toxic anthraqionones.

Coffee  contains caffeine and other chemicals that can cause heart and nervous system problems.

Raw cashew nuts contain urushiol, which is a toxin. They must be cooked before eating.

57g of salt can be deadly to a small child.

With the information gained in the described residue studies and official consumption data (government gathered data on what people eat in a country or region) scientists calculate the theoretically possible highest intake of residues with their daily diet for different population groups (e.g. adults, toddlers, elderly...) and different regional habits.  

In another bundle of studies, the susceptibility of animals is investigated to determine which amounts of a plant protection product or its degradation products can be tolerated without negative impact to different species. The amounts determined to be safe are divided by certain safety factors (typically 100) and then established as official safety limits. This means the dose allowed to be consumed is 100 times less than the dose that caused no observable harmful effects (NOAEL) in animal tests.

Scientists then compare the determined maximum intake by diet with the established safety limits. Only uses which do not compromise the established safety limit can be approved. The compliance with these safety limits is strictly monitored at regular intervals by government authorities.

Registration authorities evaluate all processes happening before registration. Then, if a product is deemed acceptable – and ONLY then – they publish the official MRL.

This official MRL is a legal limit meaning that food containing residues above the official MRL are not allowed to be traded. Such food commodities have either to be send back or to be destroyed.

Remark: A MRL is not a safety limit, the safe limit is at least 100 fold higher!

Exceedances of an MRL is not synonymous with a health risk. Quite often the risk assessment calculations revealed that also higher MRLs would be possible, but governments want the MRL levels to be only as high as needed to cover the recommendations for the intended use. 

How many – let`s say – apples would an average adult have to eat in one day to have a notable effect from typical crop protection products on his health?

Can you imagine eating 850 apples in one day? Although this is a typical example, the numbers shown are not always this high. But large safety factors are always included in dietary risk assessment to ensure that the crop protection residues that may be found in food will not pose a risk to the consumer.

So, what about food safety?

Farmers have to comply with Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), following a basic principle of using crop protection: As little as possible and only when necessary. Also, the potential residues on a harvested crop are regulated by a maximum residue level (MRL).

This ensures the safety of your food.

Do I have to do something?

When it comes to residues in food, there is nothing you need to do, because it is the job of professionals to keep your next meal safe.

But there are some things that are always good to consider while handling raw food to follow general food hygiene and nutrition rules.

Wash everything and always under running water. This allows the reduction of surface impurities, such as dirt, bacteria, or surface residues.

Dry produce with a clean cloth towel or paper towel where possible.

Scrub firm fruits and vegetables, like melons and root vegetables.

Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.