Pesticide residues in food and agricultural produce have continued to command considerable public attention and sometimes become a trade barrier in international trade when residue levels exceed tolerance limits set by imported countries, or are regulated at their lowest detection levels when their limits are not available. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which represents regional countries in South-east Asia have encountered problems of pesticide residues in their export of tropical fruits and vegetables. The challenge for ASEAN to reduce these problems is to establish ASEAN MRLs using data from supervised trials based on local GAP or adoption of Codex MRLs. To ensure safety of the consumers as well as to accept the established MRLs, dietary risk assessment is required for safety evaluation in which constraints stem from lack of appropriate data and expertise in the region. Since global food safety and risk assessment issues have become important in ASEAN production and export of food, practices in pesticide regulation need strengthening and improving, such as data requirements for registration, laboratory analysis and analytical methodology, post registration product stewardships including farmer education, etc. Furthermore, Thailand, as an example, implemented a national food safety programme in 2003 to strengthen food safety control and management systems to cope with risk concerns and protect consumers' health and as a result has received significant improvement of food quality in the subsequent years.

ASEAN perspectives on pesticide residues in food and international trade in relation to regulation and safety consideration

248th National Meeting (2014)

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