UK considers using Brexit freedom to allow pesticides banned in EU on food – The Independent

The government is considering using its new Brexit regulatory freedom to allow pesticides banned in the EU on food imported to the UK.

Brussels announced it was banning 10 pesticides on imported fruit and veg in February last year and the UK was at the time widely expected in to follow suit. But over a year later the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) says no decision has yet been made on whether Britain will follow the EU or continue to permit the chemicals on food.

All the pesticides have not been allowed for use by domestic farmers in either the UK or EU for some years, but were still allowed for imports from outside the bloc subject to maximum residue levels checked by border staff.

But last year Brussels regulation 2021/155 cut the maximum residue levels (MRLs) for all the chemicals to the lowest possible level allowed under EU law effectively banning their use on food destined for the continent.

The change was announced by the European Commission in February 2021 and took effect in September last year, but the UK has not yet decided whether to follow suit for most of the chemicals.

The chemicals in question are carbon tetrachloride, chlorothalonil, chlorpropham, ethoprophos, fenamidone, methiocarb, propiconazole and pymetrozine. Two further chemicals, dimethoate and omethoate, were also banned by the regulation and have also since been banned on food imported to the UK.

The eight chemicals that are still permitted on imports to the UK but not EU were banned for a variety of reasons: chlorothalonil, a fungicide, is considered potentially carcinogenic and is judged to be a possible groundwater contaminant.

Propiconazole, another fungicide used by American rice farmers, is considered toxic to reproduction, meaning it is classed as potentially dangerous to babies in the womb. Meanwhile chlorpropham, a chemical used to prevent potato sprouting by American farmers, is banned for domestic use in the EU and UK due to toxicity concerns.

The widespread use of the chemicals by US farmers and the foot-dragging by the UK government has raised eyebrows among campaigners, who are suspicious that the UK may be concerned banning the pesticides could jeopardise a future trade agreement with the US and other countries with lax standards.

The US rice industry described the ban on propiconazole as frustrating in April last year, while the countrys potato industry has described steps to restrict chlorpropham as disappointing.

The Defra press office declined to provide a quote for this article but confirmed that no decision had yet been taken on the eight chemicals that were as yet not banned for import to the UK. The department did not give a timescale but said decisions would be made in due course and independently of the EU.

Defra highlighted that it had taken action equivalent to the EU import ban on two of the chemicals, dimoethoate and omethoate, and said that decisions about which pesticides to permit on food were based on robust scientific assessments.

Friends of the Earth campaigner Kierra Box told The Independent: Weve known for years that these pesticides pose health risks, which is why the UK already has some restrictions in place to limit residues of these chemicals on imported food.

However, the EU has already tightened the rules, so why hasnt the UK followed suit?

Any suggestion that prospective trade deals with countries that commonly use these pesticides may have influenced delays to these reassessments would be deeply concerning.

We mustnt trade away health and environment safeguards for the sake of a few pounds or use the UKs newfound regulatory freedom to trash standards that protect people and planet, rather than raise them.

An investigation by Greenpeace's Unearthed unit published in February found that British companies had shipped more than 10,000 tonnes of banned pesticides overseas in 2020, including propiconazole.

Cars make their way along the flooded A1101 in Welney in Norfolk

PA

People hold placards as they take part in a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Trafalgar Square, London

AP

Volunteers help sort through fresh donations after more than 500 boxes of essential supplies were gathered by Parenting Network at Portsmouth Guildhall

PA

Commuters wait to get on a bus near Liverpool Street Station as all London Underground lines are suspended after thousands of workers began strike action in London

EPA

Rend Platings and her husband Michael outside their home in Cambridge, which they have painted in the colours of the Ukraine flag in a show of support for friends in the country

PA

Players take part in the Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, which has been played in the town since the 12th century

PA

Donations at the Klub Orla Bialego (White Eagle Club) in Balham, south London, made by members of the public, prior to their aid convoy setting off to Ukraine in aid of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion

PA

People protest in front of the National Gallery in London against Russias massive military operation in Ukraine

Reuters

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George in the stands during the Guinness Six Nations match at Twickenham Stadium, London

PA

People head to St Marys Cathedral to light candles after a demonstration outside the Russian Consulate General in Edinburgh, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine

PA

People protest against the Russian invasion on Ukraine outside Downing Street in London

EPA

Swimmers from Hampstead Ponds cross the road in their swimming costumes outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, as they await the result of a judicial review brought by Christina Efthimiou over whether the charges for bathing at the ponds in Hampstead Heath unlawfully discriminate against disabled people

PA

Runners line up for the start of The Anshin Security Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle at Taunton Racecourse

Getty

Shoes on display at the ROKER AW22 presentation at London Fashion Week, in London

EPA

The waters of the River Severn in edge towards homes in Ironbridge, Shropshire, as more wet and windy weather is set to sweep the UK. Storm Franklin is set to strike the UK just days after Storm Eunice destroyed buildings and left 1.4 million homes without power

PA

Damaged caused to home of Dominic Good, in Stondon Massey, near Brentwood, Essex, after a 400-year-old oak tree in his garden was uprooted by Storm Eunice.

PA

Activists from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protest against the use of feathers in clothing, ahead of London Fashion Week

Reuters

Waves crashing on the seafront at Blackpool before Storm Dudley hits the north of England

PA

Hailey Duff, left, Vicky Wright, centre and Jennifer Dodds in action for Great Britsin during their womens curling round robin match against Japan at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Team GB sealed a 10-4 victory

Reuters

Members of the Household Cavalry walk past Wellington Arch and a large inflatable heart, on Valentine's Day in London

Reuters

People in costume attend the Whitby Steampunk Weekend in Yorkshire

PA

People in Parliament Square, London, take part in the People's Assembly nationwide protest about cost of living crisis

PA

Romney sheep graze the grass around the dormant vines at Nyetimber's Manor Vineyard at West Chiltington in West Sussex. The herd from a local farm form part of Nyetimber's sustainability program and are utilised for vineyard maintenance, keeping the grass low, reducing the risk of frost, maintaining grass leys on the estate and saving the cost of fuel for mowing

PA

Alice Wyllie looks at projections featuring details of some of the illustration plates during the press view for Audubon's Birds of America exhibition at the National Museum Of Scotland, Edinburgh

PA

New arrival Upendi and mother Cheka in the bonobo enclosure at Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire

PA

Workers move a crate containing Season's Greetings by street artist Banksy from a retail unit at Ty'r Orsaf, Port Talbot, prior to its journey to a temporary storage unit at an undisclosed location

PA

Dog walkers enjoy the early morning sunrise at Tynemouth Beach in North Tyneside, on the north east coast of England

PA

A Leicester City invades the pitch as Nottingham Forest celebrate scoring their sides third goal of the game during the Emirates FA Cup fourth round match at the City Ground, Nottingham

PA

Stadium staff remove a flare from the pitch during the Emirates FA Cup fourth round match at Selhurst Park

PA

"The Nuba Survival" is a five-metre-tall statue of two skeletons locked in an embrace in Checkendon, Oxfordshire. The statue was created by local artist John Buckley

PA

Kew horticulturists attending to the Rising sun display at the Kew Orchid Festival: Costa Rica, at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, west London

PA

Protesters campaign against corruption in London

EPA

Lorries queue for the Port of Dover in Kent, as the Dover TAP is enforced due to the high volume of lorries waiting to cross the Channel

PA

Nelson Beaumont-Laurencia applies finishing touches to a sculpture of a tiger, commissioned byManchester Business Improvement District to celebrate the Chinese New Year, is unveiled in St Anns Square

PA

A house on Overhill terrace in Gateshead, lost its roof on 29 January after strong winds from Storm Malik battered northern parts of the UK

PA

A newly painted bicycle sign is seen on the middle of the road at Westminster Bridge, as the new Highway Code rules start today together with giving pedestrians priority at junctions

Reuters

School children take part in a rally in support of British Sign Language becoming a recognised language in the UK, outside the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, as the British Sign Language Private Members Bill, introduced by Rosie Cooper MP, reaches its second reading in the House

PA

A rare six-week-old southern white rhino calf called Zawadi, explores her paddock for the first time at Africa Alive! in Lowestoft

PA

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jogs with his dog Dilyn, in London

REUTERS

A member of staff looks at Francis Bacons work Second Version of Triptych 1944 on display in the Francis Bacon: Man and Beast exhibition at the the Royal Academy of Arts in London

PA

Rowers (front to back) Charlotte Irving, Kat Cordiner and Abby Johnston, on their way to shatter the world record for rowing across the Atlantic

PA

A grey seal pup on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as the pupping season draws to a close at one of the UKs most important sites for the mammals

The rest is here:

UK considers using Brexit freedom to allow pesticides banned in EU on food - The Independent