Questions and Answers on Residues of Plant Protection Products in Food
Updated BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment FAQ of 3 December 2025
What it's about:
Plant protection products are used to protect plants from pests and competing weeds. Even when authorised plant protection products are used properly and as intended, residues may remain in the harvested crop and in the food and feed produced from it. To ensure that residues do not harm the health of consumers, either through lifelong daily consumption or through the consumption of large quantities of food on a single occasion, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) carries out a comprehensive health assessment of plant protection products as part of the authorisation process and, on this basis, develops proposals for maximum residue levels. The permissible amounts of an active substance that a foodstuff may contain are determined in accordance with the ALARA principle ("As Low As Reasonably Achievable").
Maximum residue levels are the maximum permissible concentrations of active substances in plant protection products and their degradation products that may remain in food. They are not determined solely on the basis of the health risk assessment, but also take good agricultural practice into account. Compliance with a maximum residue level determines whether a food product is marketable or must be withdrawn from the market.
Against this background, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has compiled frequently asked questions and answers on the authorisation of plant protection products, how maximum residue levels are set, and the consequences of possible exceedances.
[Accordion] Questions and Answers on Residues of Plant Protection Products in Food
Plant protection products are intended to protect plants or parts of plants – including fresh fruit, vegetables and seeds – from pests such as fungi, weeds or harmful organisms. They are also used to secure crop yields, protect crops during storage and transport, and ensure good food quality. Although fewer plant protection products are used in organic farming than in conventional agriculture, even organic farmers cannot do without chemical plant protection products entirely.
Active substances are chemical elements and their compounds or microorganisms with a general or specific effect against pests on plants, parts of plants or plant products. Plant protection products are commercially available preparations that may contain one or more active substances and one or more formulation additives in the form of a mixture or solution.
An overview of the plant protection products authorised in Germany is available in the online database of the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety) (External Link:https://psm-zulassung.bvl.bund.de/psm/jsp/). This also shows which and how many active substances are contained in a plant protection product. In addition, the BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety also publishes an annual overview of sales of plant protection products in Germany.
The latest information can be found on the BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety website:
Before plant protection products can be sold and used in agriculture, they must be authorised in Germany. Authorisation is granted for a specific purpose (indication), i.e. to combat a specific pest on or in a crop. This is therefore referred to as "indication authorisation".
In accordance with the applicable EU regulations, the assessment of the risks that may arise from the use of a given plant protection product is carried out by an EU Member State on behalf of the Member States in a zone. The EU territory is divided into three zones for this purpose, with Germany being part of the central zone. The Member States in each zone are directly involved in the assessment of the plant protection product through their comments. The actual authorisation of the plant protection product is carried out at national level. In Germany, it is granted by the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety). The Julius Kühn Institute – Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (JKIshort forJulius Kühn Institute), the German Federal Environment Agency (UBAshort forGerman Environment Agency) and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) are involved in the authorisation process and carry out partial assessments within the scope of their responsibilities. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment assesses the health risks for consumers, operators, workers, residents and bystanders. (More information can be found in our FAQ on the plant protection product authorisation process).
Active substances are not authorised nationally, but are approved at EU level for use in plant protection products under a regulation following a comprehensive joint assessment involving all Member States and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority). Once approved, these active substances are generally available for authorisation and use in plant protection products.
Plant protection product residues are the remnants of active substances and their degradation products that are found on or in food. Degradation products can be formed in plant metabolism or, for example, under the influence of sunlight.
Residues on harvested crops cannot be completely avoided, even in the case of good agricultural practice and the proper use of plant protection products. Plant protection products are used at different times during the growth season and the degradation rates of their active substances vary. Residues are to be expected at the time of harvesting, particularly when plant protection products are applied shortly before harvesting or when their active substances are persistent. However, the levels must be low enough that they do not pose a risk to human health.
Plant protection product residues in food are permitted up to the legally specified maximum residue levels. According to current scientific knowledge, no adverse health effects are to be expected if the maximum residue levels are complied with.
Plant protection product residues can be found in plant-based foods. Foods of animal origin may also contain such residues if the animals have previously consumed plant-based feed containing plant protection product residues.
The principles for implementing "good agricultural practice", also referred to as "good professional practice in plant protection", are to be understood as guidelines and apply to anyone who carries out plant protection measures. They stipulate that plant protection products must be used in a manner appropriate to the location, crop and situation, and that their use must be limited to what is strictly necessary. The products should only be used if there is an infestation that warrants control. The necessary plant protection measures must be carried out and documented in an appropriate manner.
The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment is involved in the authorisation process as a competent authority. Among other things, it only supports the authorisation of a plant protection product if the residues that may remain on food after proper use are harmless to health according to current scientific knowledge and if suitable analysis methods exist with which the residues can be monitored. Proper use must also not lead to unacceptable effects on operators, workers, bystanders and residents. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment's vote is taken into account in the decision on authorisation.
The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment conducts a health risk assessment in order to determine potential consumer risks posed by plant protection product residues. Two factors are taken into account: the toxicological reference value for the intake of the active substance in the plant protection product and the amount of the active substance that consumers ingest via contaminated products. This intake is referred to as "exposureExposureTo glossary".
The toxic effect is determined on the basis of study results. These are mostly animal studies that provide information on the acute, subacute and chronic toxicity of a plant protection product active substance. Among other things, they also provide information on possible mutagenic (genotoxic), carcinogenic and reproductive toxicity properties. Two important health-based reference values are derived from these studies as part of the EU active substance assessment: the acute reference dose (ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose) and the acceptable daily intake (ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake). The ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose refers to the immediate (acute) effect of a substance, while the ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake refers to its chronic (lifelong) effect.
ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake stands for "Acceptable Daily Intake" and indicates the amount of a substance that a consumer can ingest daily throughout their lifetime without any discernible health risk. The ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake value is used to assess chronic risks.
The acute reference dose (ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose) is defined as the amount of a substance that a consumer can ingest with food over the course of a day without any discernible health risk. The ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose represents a health-based reference value for short-term exposure of individuals.
In order to derive toxicological reference values for scientific risk assessment, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment evaluates suitable studies. These include studies on laboratory animals. These studies experimentally determine the dose without observable adverse effects (no observed adverse effect level, NOAEL) for the most sensitive animal species and the most sensitive sex. Short-term studies are usually used to derive the ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose. The ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake value is derived from toxicity studies in which chronic endpoints were investigated. These are often studies looking into carcinogenicity or reproductive or multigenerational aspects. The dose without observable adverse effects derived from the relevant studies is divided by what is known as an (un)safety factor, which takes into account differences between species (i.e. animals and humans) as well as differences between individuals (i.e. individual humans). A factor of 100 is usually used for this purpose.
Consumer exposure via food (intake amount) is determined from the level of residue in the food and the amount of food normally consumed. The concentration of the residue in the food is derived from studies in which the plant protection product was used under realistic conditions (monitored residue trials). Consumption amounts are available from consumption studies.
The amounts of food typically consumed by consumers in Germany were determined in two consumption studies. Firstly, the results of the so-called VELS study, a consumption study of German children aged between two and four years, which was published in 2005, are used. This population group is considered particularly sensitive due to its comparatively high food intake in relation to its low body weight. Secondly, consumption data for the 14 to 80-year-old population in Germany, which was collected in the National Consumption Study II (NVS II), is used. The consumption habits of children in Germany have meanwhile been surveyed again, and additional consumption data for 6- to 17-year-olds in Germany is available from the EsKiMo study. There are plans to update the consumption model used in Germany with this data.
In addition to German consumption data, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment also takes into account consumption information from other EU Member States, which is summarised in the EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority PRIMo model.
If the risk assessment shows that the residues resulting from the application do not exceed either the ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake value or the ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose, no health risk to consumers is to be expected. Only then is the authorisation of the corresponding plant protection product justifiable from the perspective of consumer health protection.
A health risk is not to be expected if the following two conditions are met:
- If the maximum intake of a plant protection product residue remains below the ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose; the maximum intake is calculated individually for each foodstuff and is based on the highest residue found in the monitored residue trials in conjunction with the maximum consumption amount.
- If the average intake of a plant protection product residue remains below the ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake value; the average intake is calculated from the median of the results of the monitored residue tests in conjunction with an average consumption amount and is summed up for all foods consumed.
When it comes to carcinogenic substances, a distinction must be made between those that are known or likely to be carcinogenic to humans and are classified in category 1, and those that are suspected of being carcinogenic to humans and are classified in category 2.
For substances in category 1, the cut-off criteria of the EU Plant Protection Products Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 apply. These substances may only be approved if human exposure to them is negligible.
For substances in category 2, which are carcinogenic but do not damage genetic material, the carcinogenic effect is based on a threshold value determined according to current scientific knowledge. Below this value, a carcinogenic effect is not to be expected.
From a risk assessment perspective, the current authorisation criteria sufficiently rule out health risks to consumers. The European Commission has set a high level of protection for plant protection products in its authorisation regulations. Accordingly, plant protection products may only be authorised if, according to current scientific knowledge, their residues have no harmful effects on human health when used in accordance with good agricultural practice. In order to meet the requirements for authorisation, extensive studies on toxicity, residue behaviour and residue analysis must be submitted for the active substances and plant protection products. Plant protection product active substances are therefore among the chemical substances that are best studied and characterised in terms of potential hazards and risks to health.
Based on the harmful effects of a substance determined in toxicological tests and the dose-response relationships, it is generally possible to characterise and quantify the occurrence of harmful effects on health at a defined exposure level. It is also possible to estimate dose ranges in which harmful effects on health can be ruled out with sufficient certainty.
The use of plant protection products may cause an unpleasant odour in individual cases. However, according to current scientific knowledge, no adverse health effects are to be expected for citizens as long as authorized plant protection products are used in accordance with good professional practice. The plant protection services of the respective federal states are responsible for questions regarding the use of plant protection products. An overview of the official information centres for plant protection in the federal states is provided by the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety):
External Link:http://www.bvl.bund.de/pflanzenschutzdienste
Further information is available at:
A single exceedance of the ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake value and even a short-term (lasting several days) exceedance of the ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake value does not pose a risk to consumers, because the value is derived on the assumption of daily exposure over a lifetime.
In contrast, a possible health impairment due to a single or short-term exceedance of the ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose cannot be ruled out from the outset. Whether damage to health can actually occur must be examined on a case-by-case basis.
Before a new maximum level can be set, it must be ensured that compliance with it can be monitored. To this end, the residues must be analytically determinable, if possible, using a quick and simple routine analytical method. Residues at the maximum level must also not pose an acute or chronic risk to consumers. In order to assess this, the toxicological properties and residue behaviour of the active substance must be evaluated before a new maximum level is set.
The EU procedure for setting maximum residue levels is formally independent of the national authorisation procedure for plant protection products. The maximum levels are derived by experts from the Member States and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority) in a Community procedure, checked for their safety and then published by the European Commission in legally binding EU regulations. This means that the same maximum levels automatically apply in all EU Member States.
A maximum residue level (also known as maximum residue amount) specifies the maximum permissible concentration of a plant protection product active substance in a foodstuff. Maximum residue levels serve as binding trade standards to ensure the free movement of goods. Foodstuffs are only marketable if they comply with the maximum residue levels.
Yes. As the scope of the German national Maximum Residue Limits Regulation (RHmV) was more comprehensive than EU law, the parts of the RHmV that are not yet regulated in the EU continue to apply and thus supplement EU law. Details on this have been published by the BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety:
In specific situations, national maximum residue levels that deviate from the EU maximum levels may be set to support so-called emergency authorisations, if necessary. These maximum residue levels only apply to the market of the respective country and must not pose a health risk to consumers in Germany. We have compiled further information on emergency authorisations for plant protection products in a separate FAQ.
When determining the permissible amounts of an active substance that a foodstuff may contain, the ALARA principle ("As Low As Reasonably Achievable") applies. Maximum levels are therefore never set higher than is necessary according to good agricultural practice. This takes into account the requirement to minimise the use of plant protection products.
The maximum levels are set on the basis of residue trials carried out in accordance with the application of a plant protection product requested for the respective crop and as required to control the pest. The trials are designed under controlled conditions to test the most critical permissible use: the highest permissible application rate, the highest permissible number of applications, the latest permissible application date and the shortest waiting period between the last application and harvest. The test results are used to determine the residue remaining in the harvested crop, and a corresponding proposal for a maximum content is submitted. Under certain circumstances, other aspects, such as changes in the residue during processing, are taken into account. Finally, it is examined whether the derived maximum content is acceptable from a health perspective, i.e. whether residues at this level do not pose an acute or chronic risk to consumers. Only if there is no evidence of a risk to consumers will the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment propose the maximum residue level.
So-called import tolerances correspond to maximum residue levels, but refer to foodstuffs imported into the European Union (e.g. rice, coffee, tropical fruits). Import tolerances are only granted for the requested active substance-food combinations if, from the point of view of consumer health protection, residues at the requested level do not pose a risk according to current scientific knowledge.
The setting of maximum residue levels is a continuous process. As soon as applications for new uses and/or new plant protection products are submitted and corresponding residue trials are presented, the existing maximum levels must be reviewed and, if necessary, changed.
In addition, maximum levels are adjusted in line with scientific findings. For instance, new toxicity studies or new consumption data can lead to a change in existing maximum levels because the risk assessment is updated and the safety of maximum levels is reassessed.
Exceeding a maximum residue level constitutes a violation of applicable law. The product in question is not marketable. However, this does not necessarily mean that the detected residue also poses a health risk to consumers, as maximum residue levels are not only based on toxicological considerations but also take good agricultural practice into account. Usually, health-based reference values (ADIshort forAcceptable Daily Intake value or ARfDshort forAcute Reference Dose) are only reached at much higher concentrations.
The term "multiple residues" refers to the simultaneous occurrence of residues of different plant protection product active substances in a foodstuff. Consumers can also ingest multiple residues by consuming different foods at the same time or in quick succession.
Modern plant protection product active substances are characterised by their selective, i.e. targeted, effect on specific pests. The use of so-called broad-spectrum active substances has decreased significantly in recent years, while the use of selective plant protection active substances has increased. As a result of this trend, depending on the infestation situation, many different plant protection products are used, which can lead to residues in the harvested crop. Changing the active substance is also necessary to prevent the development of resistance, as otherwise some pests can no longer be controlled in the longer term.
The continuous development of residue analysis has led to more and more active substances being detected in ever lower concentrations. This has also led to a greater focus on multiple residues.
Individual active substances have been very well studied from a toxicological perspective. If several substances occur simultaneously, there are basically four ways in which these substances can interact:
- They can have different effects that are independent of each other.
- Their effects may be similar/identical and add up (additive effect).
- They can reinforce each other's effects (synergistic effect).
- They can weaken each other's effects (antagonistic effect).
Plant protection product residues in food normally occur in very low concentrations, well below the threshold at which the individual substances have an effect on health (effect threshold). It can be assumed that, in this low concentration range, additive effects are predominantly relevant for the assessment of a health risk. According to the current state of knowledge, synergistic and antagonistic effects can be neglected in this concentration range (see also BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Communication No. 025/2023).
From the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment's point of view, there is already a wealth of scientific knowledge available on the effects of multiple residues of plant protection products. Based on this knowledge, there is no reason to assume that the assessments currently being carried out are not sufficiently conservative (i.e. that they tend to overestimate the risk). Despite this, these testing and assessment strategies are subject to continuous further development and are the subject of corresponding research projects.
Experience gained by the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSAshort forEuropean Food Safety Authority) has shown that, when evaluating food samples containing multiple residues, many substances occurred only in very low concentrations and the total residue was usually dominated by one active substance. If samples contained several active substances, the joint evaluation of these substances did not generally lead to a fundamentally different result than the individual substance evaluation.
Anyone who places a foodstuff on the market is obliged to guarantee compliance with the maximum residue levels in foodstuffs. Trading companies typically carry out their own internal quality controls. The official food monitoring authorities of the federal states use extensive monitoring programmes to check whether companies are fulfilling their duty of care and whether consumers are adequately protected.
Up-to-date information is provided online by the European Commission at:
External Link:https://food.ec.europa.eu/plants/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database_en
Many consumers assume that food should not contain any plant protection product residue. This is the result of a representative survey of the German population on the topic of "plant protection product residues in food", which was conducted on behalf of the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.
Consumers in Germany consider plant protection product residues in food to be a relatively high health risk. However, according to current scientific knowledge, no adverse health effects are to be expected if the maximum residue levels are complied with. Furthermore, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has not received any reports of health effects caused by plant protection product residues in food. Against this background, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment continuously informs consumers to enable them to make a realistic assessment of the risk. To this end, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment cooperates with a large number of social groups and multipliers.
In recent years, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has also provided health risk assessments and expert opinions on widespread media reports about detected plant protection product residues, including in cereals, strawberries, mulled wine and Christmas trees.
According to current scientific knowledge, foodstuffs do not pose a health risk if the legally applicable maximum levels for plant protection product residues are complied with. Regardless of this, some retail chains impose additional requirements on their suppliers for maximum plant protection product residue levels in foodstuffs that are far stricter than the legal requirements (so-called secondary standards).
In principle, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment welcomes all efforts that contribute reducing the use of plant protection products in agriculture and reducing residues on food. However, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment sees a risk that secondary standards may have undesirable consequences for the use of plant protection products in agriculture. Consciously refraining from changing active substances (with the aim of keeping the total number of detectable active substances in food as low as possible) can lead to an increased occurrence of resistance in pests. These can then no longer be controlled, or only with great difficulty. In order to reduce residues in crops, producers are also increasingly forced to use plant protection products preventively and early in the growing season instead of according to need and situation, which is no longer in line with "good agricultural practice". The establishment of secondary standards can also lead to uncertainty among consumers, as they may lose confidence in the legal regulations and official risk assessments.