China Updates the GB Standard for Maximum Residue Limits of Pesticides

The number of maximum residue limits (MRL) stipulating for pesticides exceeds 10 thousand in the 2021 version, which achieved the goal set in the “Working Plan of Improving Domestic Pesticide Residue Standard System”. At present, the amount of pesticide species and MRL items are 564 and 10092 respectively, which are almost twice as those stipulated in Codex Alimentarius Commission (hereafter referred to as CAC standards). In order to strengthen the supervision of imported agricultural products, the MRL of 87 unregistered pesticides are stipulated in GB 2763-2021.

In Mar. 2021, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (hereafter referred to as MOARA), National Health Commission (hereafter referred to as NHC) and State Administration for Market Regulation (hereafter referred to as SAMR) jointly unveiled the new GB standard for the maximum residue limits of pesticides in food (GB 2763-2021), which specifies the MRLs of 564 pesticides in 376 types of food, amounting to 10,092 items. It will be implemented on Sep. 3, 2021.

The new standard is featured with four major points as follows:

1. Covering more pesticide varieties

Compared with its 2019 version, GB 2763-2021 newly includes 82 pesticide species, representing a 16.7% growth. The MRL items increases by 2,985, representing a 42% growth. It is noteworthy that the number of pesticide species and MRL items are, respectively, almost twice as those stipulated in CAC standards, which comprehensively cover permitted pesticides and major plant-origin agricultural products in China.

2. Carrying out the stringent regulation on pesticide residues

The new standard sets up 792 MRL for 29 prohibited pesticides* and 345 MRL for 20 restricted pesticides. The MRL for fresh food (like fruit and vegetable), which are of the general social concerns, occupy 57.1% of the overall, amounting to 5766 items. In order to strengthen the supervision of imported agricultural products, the competent authority stipulated the MRL of 87 pesticides unregistered in China, amounting to 1,742 items after the update.

*Notes: Some permanent pesticides have been prohibited for use, but the residues can enter the food chain during the long-term existence in environment.

3. Being geared to international standards

The revision of GB 2763 widely refers to data such as pesticide residue tests, market monitoring, residents’ dietary consumption, pesticide toxicology, and conducts risk evaluation following CAC current practices. Opinions and comments from various stakeholders such as experts, the public, relevant authorities, are taken into consideration during the revision of the new standard. The revised version has also undergone WTO members’ review.

4. Optimizing the testing of pesticides residues

Four testing standards are released in the update, so that some pesticide residues lack of testing method will have standards to refer to.