One of the responsibilities of the Swedish Food Agency (SLV) is to secure safe food for Swedish consumers. To ensure this, the SLV has a control programme for pesticide residues in food products. Among the public, there is an interest and concern that our food contains residues of plant protection products (PPP) and especially whether everyday food contains residues. As it is possible to grow apples in Sweden and it is a fruit that is often consumed, the SLVhas compiled the results of residue

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... asurements of different PPPs found in apples produced in Sweden in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The residue results for Swedish apples have been compared with those for apples imported from other EU member states as well as from countries outside the EU. In a majority of all samples from the control programme (75–96%), a low-level presence of residues has been found, irrespective of whether the apples are grown in Sweden or imported. About 80% of the residues are below current maximum residue levels (MRL). In apples from all three years and growing areas, there are samples without any trace of residues (in 3–25%). Most samples without residues are from apples produced within the EU and the smallest number of samples without residues are from apples grown outside the EU. In apples grown outside the EU, samples exceeding one or several MRLs have been detected in all three years. In apples from the EU, one case of exceedance was detected in 2017 and none has been detected in apples produced in Sweden in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The residue levels found in apples grown in the EU, including Sweden, comes from fungicides and insecticides. Residues detected in apples from the EU, excluding Sweden, came from roughly three times as many different substances as residues detected in Swedish apples. In apples produced in third countries, even more substances were detected than in apples from the EU. In apples from third countries, residues of herbicides and plant growth regulators have also been found. The substance boscalid, a fungicide, was the [...]