Mintage Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences (ISSN: 2320-3315)

Author(s): VALENTINAL. CHRISTOVA-BAGDASSARIAN1, JULIETAA. TISHKOVA1, JULIANA RUMENOVA TASHEVA-PETKOVA2, M. ATANASSOVA

Objective: Pesticides are used worldwide. They are applied during the growing season and part of the amount may remain in or on treated crop. Pesticides can drift to nearby areas  and  contaminate  crops  that  were  not  treated.  The  MRLs  are  the  maximum  amount  of  a  pesticide  permitted  in  or  on  food  (&  feed),  expressed  in  mg/kgor  ppm  and always defined for the active substance –crop combination. MRL should be set according to residue trials under Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and under the condition that:  Daily  Consumer  Intake  <  Acceptable  Daily  Intake.  The  residue  definition  of  active  substanceis  derivedfrom  plant  and  animal  metabolism.  Supervised  trials  are  the primary  source of  information  for  estimating  maximum  residue  levels  and  calculating  International Estimated  Daily  Intake.  The  agricultural practice  the worst-case  situation should be used to generate data from supervised trials to define the MRL. As the number of controlled field tests, and hence the data for MRL proposal is not large, the usual statistical models are inappropriate.Methods:Two methods for calculating proposed pre-harvest intervals (PHI) and maximum residue levels are used. The first one (Rmax) has proved its worth in many cases since 1981, and the second (Rber) has been developed by the Federal Biological Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in Braunschweig/Germany. Both methods are described  briefly.  The  first  one  is  suitable  for  a  larger  number  of  data.  It  assumes a  normal distribution  of  random  variables,  which  are  not  always  assumed  with  sufficient certainty. The second one uses a non-parametric distribution-and it is appropriate for more limited number of trials. Several case studies are discussed. The MRL Regulation on pesticide residues in food is a great progress towards better protection of children and consumer in general. Conclusions:Uniform criteria have to be used for evaluation of residue trials and MRLs setting process. Knowledge of the European approach in establishing the pesticide residue levels is useful for all countries in the world that have a policy of restrictionof persistent organic pollutants in the environment aiming towards food safety for people of all ages