Pesticide Residues

For many years the aim of the flour milling industry has been that the treatment of grain with pesticides should be kept to a minimum so that the incidence of residues is reduced along with the level of residue when grain is treated.  The industry’s monitoring programme which has been running or more than 20 years indicates that this strategy has been successful.

Nowadays the most common findings are:  growth regulators (which are used by farmers to prevent crops growing too tall and hence collapsing under the weight of grain late in the season.  This would cause yield loss and damage grain quality); glyphosate, which is used by some growers prior to harvest to minimise moisture levels and ensure that the land is clean for the following crop; and post harvest insecticides which are found more frequently in imported grain.  Where residues are found, the levels are usually close to the limit of detection and always well below maximum permitted levels.

nabim works with manufacturers and farmers (through the farm assurance schemes) to encourage practice which minimises residues of these compounds; incidence of post-harvest insecticide residues has been in steady decline, which is expected to continue.