Dear  President Von der Leyen, 

The export ban of toxic pesticides banned in the EU was promised in the proposed Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, part of the EU Green Deal. The Commission was supposed to present legislation by the end of 2023, but the process stalled after the consultation phase and the proposal never appeared.  Meanwhile the trade of these toxic chemicals continues. 

As an EU citizen and consumer, I urge you to: 

1. put an end to the double standards. Toxic pesticides, that are not allowed for use in EU agriculture, due to their health and environmental impacts, can be sold and exported to other countries. These hazardous chemicals should not be used anywhere in the world.
2. stop the so-called ‘boomerang effect’: foods treated with these banned pesticides are being imported back to the EU and ending up on our plates. The EU must legislate for zero tolerance on these residues. 

Kind regards,  

Your first name & surname, place and comment, if given (will be completed automatically)

• Ursula von der Leyen,  President of the European Commission

Pesticides are chemicals that are used in farming to control diseases, pests, weeds and other organisms. There are several different categories of pesticides, depending on their purpose:  

• insecticides (these substances kill: insects)
• herbicides (these substances kill: weeds)
• fungicides (these substances kill: disease-causing fungi)
   

While their use is banned in the EU agriculture, companies based in the EU are still allowed to produce and export these pesticides to third countries . This creates health risks for farmers, plantation workers, and nearby communities in those countries and causes environmental damage.

The "boomerang effect" refers to the phenomenon where residues of banned pesticides return to the EU through imported food.  

For trade reasons, the EU casually allows import tolerance for certain pesticides already banned in the EU, through the setting of MRLs that are higher than the detection level. This allows residues of pesticides that are banned in the EU to pertain in food products when they should not. A default maximum residue limit (MRL) of 0.01 mg/kg or at the detection limit should apply to banned pesticides. This prevents these harmful substances from entering the European market legally and protects both consumers and farmers. In addition, it ensures fair competition for European farmers.

Since 2020, foodwatch has been campaigning against European production and export of banned pesticides. Since then, more than 83,000 foodwatchers called on pesticide producers to stop their trade. Meanwhile, while some EU countries such as France and Belgium have already taken steps to partially ban the export of dangerous pesticides, an EU-wide ban remains out. That's why foodwatch is urgently calling on the European Commission to follow through.

After years of campaigning by foodwatch and other NGOs, the European Commission finally started the legislative process in 2022, but it got stuck in the so-called "consultation" phase in which input from stakeholders and experts is sought. To date, radio silence reigns and we fear that like many other relevant consumer proposals, also this new legislation has been closed into a drawer and will be dumped. 

The study, led by foodwatch Netherlands and based on the 2023 monitoring data from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), provides a comprehensive analysis of the residues of banned pesticides that are found in food sold in Dutch supermarkets. It also evaluates the effectiveness of current enforcement policies and supermarket self-regulation.