The Swedish authorities have issued a “Food Alert” for tomatoes originating from Morocco after they found fungicide residue levels were more than 20 times the permitted levels.
The warning was issued by the Swedish authorities on February 3 and all the tomatoes were immediately withdrawn from the market. However, the alert has provided ammunition for Italy, France and Spain to propose adding a clause to the Association Agreement between the EU and Morocco requiring Morocco to respect all conditions of production including phytosanitary, environmental and social.
The fungicide found, called procimidona, is prohibited by the EU for agricultural use by member states but permitted for limited use by “associates” as in the case of Morocco. However, there are strict restrictions on residue levels (0.02 milligrams per kilo). The residue level in the tomatoes tested by the Swiss authorities had levels of 0.51 milligrams per kilo.
