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UK flour millers are committed to and take pride in producing safe wholesome flour from wheat. Whilst it is generally accepted that the controlled use of pesticides is an integral part of mainstream farming practice, millers are keen to promote the careful usage of pesticides and to ensure that any traces of pesticides are well within regulatory limits (Maximum Residue Limits, MRLs).
Millers’ hazard analysis (HACCP) focuses on delivered wheat as, logically, if there is no concern with pesticides in wheat then there is no concern with residues in wheat flour. To minimize pesticide residues and to ensure that any residues fall below Maximum Residue Limits, mills employ a number of measures:
- nabim members purchase UK wheat only from farms belonging to recognised
assurance schemes, where farmers have adopted best practice and keep records
of all pesticides applied to the crop. Farms registered under assurance schemes
have to use operatives trained and certified in the correct application of
pesticides, and comprehensive records are kept of products used and conditions
at the time of application. Farm assurance also enables millers to trace
the wheat back to the farm.
- Millers inspect all wheat deliveries
for physical signs of any food safety hazard.
- Millers require a pesticide passport accompanying each consignment
of grain delivered to the mill which:
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provides millers with information about the ‘pesticide history’ of the grain;
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lists post-harvest pesticide usage;
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helps to ensure that crops are not treated twice and that best practice is
adhered to with respect to time between structural treatment and grain storage.
- Millers monitor pesticide traces in wheat on a regular basis throughout the year.
nabim set up a monitoring scheme in the late 1980s and has monitored wheat ever since,
testing both UK and imported wheat. It is important to note that this is primarily a customer
assurance programme, as there has been no residue above the Maximum Residue Limit for any pesticide
for the last nine years.
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