PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN FOOD
REPORT OF THE 1997 JOINT FAO/WHO MEETING OF EXPERTS
A Joint Meeting of the FAO Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment and the WHO Core Assessment Group (JMPR) was held at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, from 22 September to 1 October 1997. The FAO Panel of Experts had met in preparatory sessions from 17 to 21 September.
The Meeting was opened by Dr J. Rice, Chief, Unit of Carcinogen Identification and Evaluation, International Agency for Research on Cancer, on behalf of the Directors-General of FAO and WHO. Dr Rice emphasized the importance of the work of JMPR for the establishment of international standards and their key role in settling trade disputes brought before the World Trade Organization. He also highlighted the importance of making use of national evaluations to the greatest extent possible.
The Meeting was held in pursuance of recommendations made by previous Meetings and accepted by the governing bodies of FAO and WHO that studies should be undertaken jointly by experts to evaluate possible hazards to humans arising from the occurrence of residues of pesticides in foods. The reports of previous Joint Meetings (see References, Section 7) contain information on acceptable daily intakes (ADIs), maximum residues limits (MRLs), and general principles for the evaluation of pesticides that have been evaluated. The supporting documents (Residue and Toxicological Evaluations) contain detailed monographs on these pesticides and include comments on analytical methods. The present Meeting was convened to consider a further number of pesticides together with items of a general or a specific nature. These include items for clarification of recommendations made at previous Meetings or for reconsideration of previous evaluations in the light of findings of subsequent research or other developments.
During the Meeting the FAO Panel of Experts was responsible for reviewing residue and analytical aspects of the pesticides under consideration, including data on their metabolism, fate in the environment, and use patterns, and for estimating the maximum residue levels that might occur as a result of the use of the pesticides according to good agricultural practices. The WHO Toxicological Core Assessment Group was responsible for reviewing toxicological and related data and for estimating, where possible, ADIs for humans of the pesticides. The Meeting also considered risks to organisms in the environment of two pesticides that had been deferred from the 1996 Joint Meeting and had been evaluated at a Core Assessment Group meeting in Leicester, UK, in March 19971. The recommendations of the Joint Meeting, including those for further research and the provision of additional information, are proposed for use by national governments, international organizations, and other interested parties.
1International Programme on Chemical Safety. Joint Meeting on Pesticides: Report of the 1997 meeting of the Core Assessment Group, Geneva, in preparation.
The Joint Meeting was saddened to hear of the recent death of a former Temporary Adviser and Member of the WHO Core Assessment Group, Dr E.M. den Tonkelaar, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Netherlands. Dr den Tonkelaar's many contributions to the JMPR are gratefully acknowledged.
