Gyeonggi Province Health and Environmental Research Institute Detects Pesticide Residues Exceeding Standards in 6 Batches of Herbs Including Cilantro

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] The Gyeonggi Province Health and Environmental Research Institute announced on the 3rd that it conducted pesticide residue safety tests on herbs being distributed through online retailers, large distribution outlets, and wholesale markets in the province, and detected pesticide residues exceeding safety standards in 6 batches.

The tests, conducted from January to June, collected 55 batches of 11 types of herbs including cilantro, lemongrass, lemon balm, rosemary, apple mint, spearmint, basil, Thai basil, dill, oregano, and thyme, and investigated the detection of 341 types of pesticide residues.

The test results showed pesticides including etofenprox, lufenuron, paclobutrazole, phenthoate, ethoprophos, spiromesifen, iprodione, and flubendiamide exceeding safety standards were detected in 6 batches of cilantro, rosemary, apple mint, spearmint, Thai basil, and dill.

In response, the Institute seized and disposed of agricultural products with pesticide residues exceeding standards, and notified the results to related agencies including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, which implemented administrative measures.

Among the 6 items with excessive pesticide detection in this survey, 3 items were subject to uniform standards (0.01 mg/kg) under the Positive List System (PLS) for pesticide residues.

The Positive List System (PLS) is a system that uniformly manages pesticides at a non-detectable level of 0.01 mg/kg in addition to pesticides with domestic residue tolerance standards, to strengthen agricultural product safety management. It has been expanded to apply to all agricultural products since January 2019.

Oh Jo-gyo, Director of Gyeonggi Province Health and Environmental Research Institute, stated, "Enhanced pesticide safety use education and promotion for general farmers has been strengthened due to the implementation of the PLS system, but it appears this was not the case for herb producers," and added, "Since pesticide use is expected to increase during the rainy season and hot summer period ahead, we hope that herb producers will also understand the PLS system well and strictly comply with pesticide safety use standards for their crops."