Brazil extends pesticide residue checks

The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture is to extend national inspections of crops for pesticide residues and contaminants from this month. The Ministry is expanding its residues control project, the PNCRC, from checking apples and papayas to include the growing, export and import of other crops. They include grapevines, potatoes, tomatoes, melons, bananas, lemons and mangoes. The sub-Ministry of crop protection, the SDA, is to set the sampling strategy and oversee the project. Major importing areas, such as the EU and the US, will carry out annual audits of the PNCRC, the Ministry says.