Pesticide residue Pesticide residue refers to the pesticides that may remain on or in food after they are applied to food crops. The maximum allowable levels of these residues in foods are often stipulated by regulatory bodies in many countries. Regulations such as ...

s are of concern in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and foods are regularly checked to see if they are within set limits. Food Standards Australia New Zealand develops the standards for levels of pesticide residues in foods through a consultation process and the

New Zealand Food Safety Authority __NOTOC__ New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS), or Haumaru Kai Aotearoa, is the New Zealand government body responsible for food safety, and is the controlling authority for imports and exports of food and food-related products. In April 2012 it was mer ...

publishes the maximum limits of pesticide residues for foods produced in New Zealand. Pesticide residues tested in 1997 were generally low and thought to pose no detectable threat to health. More recent research shows a link between pesticides and

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, and on the

foetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...

. The

Soil & Health Association of New Zealand Soil & Health Association of New Zealand, established in 1941, is an organisation that promotes organic food and farming in New Zealand. The organisation publishes the ''Organic NZ'' magazine. See also * Organic farming in New Zealand *Agricult ...

and the Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand claim that the 2010 results are the worst ever. Some of the results include: * Pesticide residues found in 94% of targeted fruit and vegetable samples * Prohibited endosulfan in 11 of 23 cucumber samples * Dangerous fungicide exceeding allowable levels in 9 out of 24 Pak choi samples * 18 different pesticides found among 24 grape samples The

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

would prefer to see the

precautionary principle The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes caut ...

used for potentially hazardous chemicals, as practised in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

References

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External links

Pesticide maximum residue limits
at the

Environmental issues in New Zealand Pesticides in New Zealand