Council helps growers understand how pesticides influence trade

By DAN WHEAT

Capital Press

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- About 6,000, 40-pound boxes of Washington apples shipped to Finland were rejected there and destroyed because they didn't meet minimum pesticide residue levels, or MRLs, set by the European Union.

The incident happened in late December and early January and cost a Washington grower and shipper between $150,000 and $200,000, said Mike Willett, vice president for scientific affairs of the Northwest Horticultural Council.

The shipper, who sold the fruit through East Coast brokers, tried to resell the fruit or bring it back to Washington but couldn't get that worked out, Willett said.

He mentioned the incident at Washington State University Extension tree fruit meetings in Wenatchee last week as an example of minimum residue levels becoming an increasing problem for the Washington tree fruit industry in the last couple of years. He said part of his job is clearly understanding foreign MRLs, trying to keep them from being too onerous and increasing communication about them between sellers and buyers.

The Yakima-based council works on national and international policy issues affecting growers and shippers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Willett said the Finland case is the only one he's aware of this season in Europe.

When a country rejects a product for MRLs, it focuses on that label, and the ability of the company to export to that country is disrupted, he said.

Taiwan rejected 11,000 boxes of Pacific Northwest apples last year for detections of the pesticides endosulfan and fenpyroximate that didn't meet Taiwan's unannounced MRLs, Willett said.

There were three incidents last season of cherries sent to Taiwan with greater-than-allowed residue of the pesticide Provado, he said.

Taiwan is the leading consumer of fruits and vegetables in the world and Taiwan consumers are highly concerned about food safety, Willett said. Therefore, Taiwan is not about to defer to the United States or international community on MRL standards, he said.

"In 2007, we started seeing boatloads of wheat stuck in the harbor and strawberries being destroyed on boats in the harbor because of residues," Willett said. "That bothered us, so we've worked with Taiwan to set up priorities."

Pacific Rim countries have set stringent MRLs because of high levels of residue on products from China, Willett said.

Consumers in Europe also are concerned about MRLs, he said. European Union MRLs are stricter than those of the United States but European retailers often adhere to even stricter MRLs, he said. Prior to September 2008, each European nation had different MRLs, which made trade among them difficult, he said.

U.S. MRLs, Willett said, are completely safe. They are less than the acceptable daily intake, the amount of a product that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable health risk, he said.