Thailand Amends the Regulation on Food with Toxic Residue

The amendment clarifies that if there is no specific limit of toxic residues for any specific processed food, then the maximum residue limits (MRLs) in their corresponding agricultural raw materials should be followed as long as the processing of the raw materials will not cause the accumulation in toxic substances. The Thai Food and Drug Administration revises the MRLs of some existing pesticides and adds the MRLs of newly regulated pesticides.

On June 12, 2024, Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled the Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 449 on Food Containing Pesticide Residues (No. 4) (hereinafter MOPH Notification No. 449), which involves the amendments to its previous versions of MOPH Notification No. 387 (issued in 2017) and MOPH Notification No. 419 (issued in 2020). The revisions have been effective starting from June 12, 2024.

The following are the key modifications specified in MOPH Notification No. 449:

Toxic residue in processed food is clarified

In principle, the residue of toxic substances in processed food should not exceed the level specified in MOPH No. 449. However, if there is no specific limit for any specific processed food, then the residue should not exceed the maximum levels set for its corresponding agricultural raw material, as long as the processing will not cause the accumulation in toxic substances. In this case, manufacturers or importers shall be responsible for the products’ toxic residue compliance.

The maximum residue limit (MRLs) of an existing pesticide is modified

As per MOPH Notification No. 449, the MRL of Carbaryl in Mangosteen is changed from 1 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg.

The MRLs of some existing pesticides are added

No. in MOPH Notification 449	Agricultural hazardous substance	Residue substance	Food commodities	MRLs (mg/kg)
21	Thiamethoxam	Thiamethoxam	Pineapple	0.01
21	Thiamethoxam	Clothianidin	Pineapple	0.01
47	Imidacloprid	Sum of imidacloprid and its metabolites containing the 6- chloropyridinyl moiety, expressed as imidacloprid	Pineapple	0.15
53	Dinotefuran	Plant: dinotefuran Animal: sum of dinotefuran, 1-methyl-3-(tetrahydro3 furylmethyl) urea (UF) expressed as dinotefuran	Pineapple	0.15

MRLs of newly regulated pesticides are included

No. in MOPH Notification 449	Agricultural hazardous substance	Residue substance	Food commodities	MRLs (mg/kg)
54	Fluopyram	Fluopyram	Mango	1
			Longan	2
55	Trifloxystrobin	Trifloxystrobin	Mango	0.9
			Longan	1.5