Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) reduce, or (2) end, the exposure of UK consumers to pesticides in food.

The UK is a world leader in developing greener farming practices and upholds the highest standards of environmental and health protection. Our pesticides regulations set strict controls on the amounts of pesticide residues that are permitted in food to ensure the safety of consumers.

In Great Britain, regulations require the setting of a maximum residue level (MRL), which is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue in or on food or feed that is legally tolerated. We have an ongoing monitoring programme to ensure that food complies with the statutory MRLs allowed. MRLs are always set below, and usually well below, the level considered to be safe for consumers.

Defra’s National Action Plan for Sustainable Use of Pesticides, due to be published later this year, will set out proposals to minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment. In parallel, we are progressing existing policies and work areas to reduce pesticide use, such as our plan for the introduction of the Integrated Pest Management standard into the Sustainable Farming Incentives scheme in 2023.