From trees to fruits: regulations and producer responsibility

©Klara Beck/Min.Agri.Fr.

The quality of French apples is the result of a series of procedures and considerations followed by fruit farmers who systematically monitor every stage of production. Fruit farmers check that their apple trees are healthy throughout their development. Public monitoring bodies also supervise and monitor the orchards and their production.

Four key elements surround production:

• 1. A network of cultivation supervision coordinated by the Services Régionaux de la Protection des Végétaux (SRPV).
• 2. The Charte Nationale de Production Fruitière Intégrée (PFI).
• 3. European and French phytosanitary regulations and particularly those on Maximum Residue Limits (MRL).
• 4. Plantation certification.

European and French regulations on Maximum Residue Limits (MRL)

Phytosanitary products are one of the main methods used to protect fruit and vegetables from harmful organisms. After application, these products evolve quantitatively and qualitatively over time. The amount of active substances or metabolization, deterioration or reaction products present in the fruit and vegetables to be harvested constitute the residue. Its extent depends firstly on the kind of product used but also external parameters such as the climate, the conditions of use, the dose and in particularly the amount of time before harvesting. The residue observed upon harvesting therefore constitutes the ‘liability’ of phytosanitary treatment.

In order to guarantee respect for consumer safety and before any authorisation to place a phytopharmaceutical product on the market can be made, a Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) is set for cultivations authorised to use the active substance following use of the product in accordance with good agricultural practices; this MRL must then be assessed as safe for consumer health before being approved.

Apples and MRL: two EU directives

As regards apples, two EU directives (90/642/CE and 76/895/CE) have set MRLs to protect consumer safety and optimise fruit and vegetable production and the movement of products within the EU. Foodstuffs placed on the EU market must show residue levels which are less than or equal to the MRL given in these directives. French decree of 5 August 1992 on the maximum admissible pesticide residue levels on or in certain fruit and vegetable products transposes these directives and also sets MRLs which have not yet been harmonised at EU level.

Rule 396/2005/CE setting MRLs in vegetal and animal foodstuffs will come into force during 2008; the contents of the various appendices setting the MRLs as voted by the Member States is available on the Commission’s website at the following address:

http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/protection/pesticides/index

Pesticide residues in fruit an vegetable products: two competent authorities in France

the Direction Générale de l’Alimentation (DGAL): responsible for the cultivation supervision programme.

 

The DGAL, Directorate General for Food (Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing)

The DGAL exercises the competences of its ministry relating to the health of plants and animals and the monitoring of health and safety of agricultural and food products. The DGAL's field of competences is centred around hygiene, the organisation of quality systems, animal and plant health and, more generally, food health and safety.

200 people in central administration

4400 agents spread out in the 100 management departments of veterinary services (DDSV) and the 22 regional services for the protection of plants within the regional managements of agriculture and forestry.

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the Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des fraudes (DGCCRF): responsible for the supervision and monitoring programmes for products on the market

 

The DGCCRF, Directorate General for Competition and Repression of Fraud (Ministry of Economy and Finance)

The DGCCRF, exercises a role in the market by ensuring open and honest competition and to protect consumers in their daily life. Its field of action is centred on safety, honesty and quality of all consumer goods (composition, added substances, authorised treatments, labelling, marketing practice etc) and services. Food represents a part of its activities.

4100 agents serve the monitoring authority of the markets of which 2000 investigators are spread out throughout the whole of the territory between a central administration and 100 department managements (remove the end of the phrase).

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A national network of cultivation supervision

France has introduced at national level a network of cultivation supervision which has three main aims:

• health and phytosanitary monitoring
• monitoring of the production conditions of the fruit and vegetables
• promotion of the agricultural practices which most respect health and the environment.

In this regard, support is provided by the services régionaux de protection des végétaux (SRPV).

SRPV staff perform general supervision of orchards during regular visits which enable them to ensure their good phytosanitary state.

As regards particular destinations in third countries, reinforced supervision is also implemented to guarantee the absence of parasites controlled by the importing country.

The fruit and vegetable protection department has a gold standard laboratory which performs diagnoses for professionals and individuals. (LNPV).

Supervision and monitoring of products placed on the market

©Pascal Xicluna

http://photo.agriculture.gouv.fr

Supervision plans aim to give a complete picture of the situation of products placed on the market. To obtain a representative, reliable and objective picture of the presence of residues, samples are taken randomly. So as not to distort results, all targeted sampling is excluded.

However, the purpose of monitoring plans is to target sampling on foodstuffs which are susceptible to pesticide residues or which come from operators whose previous results have revealed nonconformity or about which there are strong suspicions.

In all cases, exceeding MRLs will result in differentiated follow-up, depending on the danger presented by the active substance present and the expected level of exposure to the foodstuff concerned. Such follow-up can range from a request to strengthen self-monitoring to removal of the product, accompanied by information to European partners in the rapid alert network.

For this, France uses a local network made up of the directions départementales de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DDCCRF).

Integrated Fruit Production (IFP)

Since the 1990s French producers have been developing Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) practices in collaboration with the INRA (Institut de recherché Agronomique), CTIFL (centre technique interprofessionel fruits et legumes), regional experimentation centres and technical advisors in the field. IFP is a production method used for high quality fruit which prioritises environmentally friendly methods to improve protection of the environment and food safety. Producers who use this method belong to the Charte Nationale de Production Fruitière Intégrée.Today, they represent 2,000 producers (or 90% of organised production).

The aims of this progressive approach are as follows:

• developing and promoting practices which respect the environment
• only intervening in the orchard as a last resort by setting the production argument against maintaining nature’s balance
• ensuring the traceability of IFP apple batches until dispatch
• providing all the guarantees of a progressive approach supervised by an outside body

In the framework of IFP, all systematic treatment is abandoned and prior observation is preferred. Fruit farmers rationalise their intervention, depending on various parameters such as visual monitoring, the past history of the plot and local technical information.

Furthermore, producers are developing aggressive alternative techniques to protect their orchards such as sexual confusion, the introduction and maintenance of auxiliary insects, the trapping of parasites, prophylaxis against diseases, and modelling.

The SRPV assists professionals in implementing a Plan de Maîtrise Phytosanitaire (PMPS) within their organisation and carry out secondary monitoring.

 

PMPS is a process which consists of:

1. listing, being aware of and recognising harmful organisms
2. identifying risk conditions or factors leading to the presence, spread, development and survival (after treatment) of every harmful organism in fruit and vegetable products or their immediate environment
3. defining the necessary supervision measures
4. establishing a supervision system for the appearance of harmful organisms
5. introducing conservation and curative measures in the event of detection

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