Trade term
Residue limits on citrus, and the peel problem
A maximum residue level for citrus is set on the whole fruit, peel included, and the peel is where most of what was applied stays. A lot that would pass comfortably if only the flesh were tested can sit much closer to the limit once the sample is taken the way the law requires.
The figures
| What is sampled | The whole fruit, peel included |
|---|---|
| Where residue concentrates | In the peel |
| Who sets the limits | EU residue legislation, revised regularly |
What it changes on an order
You sell fruit to be eaten whole or zested
The peel is the product, and your customers will ask in those terms.
You buy for a retailer with a private standard
Retail thresholds are frequently tighter than legal ones, so a lot can be legal and still rejected.
You are asking for analysis
Ask when it was taken and on what. An analysis from before the last treatment answers a different question.
What this note does not settle
- We do not publish residue analyses. Nothing of ours has been tested for this purpose and we will not claim otherwise.
- Limits change as substances are reviewed. Check the current value rather than a figure copied from a previous season.
Source: Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels
The limit is set on the whole fruit, peel included
A maximum residue level is the highest concentration of a pesticide legally tolerated in a food, and on citrus the analysis runs on the fruit entire. Rind included. The part anybody eats sits inside, and almost nothing applied to the outside crosses into it, yet the figure deciding whether a consignment is compliant comes from grinding up the whole thing. Post-harvest treatments weigh heavily against a limit that no consumer will ever meet.
Understanding that changes the question you should be asking. A supplier saying the fruit is within limits is describing an analysis of ground whole fruit; a customer worried about what he swallows is asking about the flesh. Both enquiries are legitimate and they are different enquiries. Decide which one you need before anyone pays a laboratory.
The number moves when the destination moves
Limits are harmonised across the Union and published in a Commission database that anybody can search by product and by substance. Outside it they diverge. The United Kingdom has kept its own register since leaving, third countries set their own, and the international reference figures agreed at Codex level differ again. A pallet that is compliant on the quay at Valencia turns non-compliant at the end of a re-export nobody mentioned.
So tell your supplier where the fruit is going, including where it goes after you. If you hold a retail specification stricter than the legal limit, send it with the enquiry rather than with the complaint. Residue analysis on our own fruit is pending with the grower, and nothing on this site claims the fruit is free of residues.
Talk to the grower
Tell us the variety, the sizes and the delivery week you need. You get a delivered price and what we can commit to in writing, from the person who picks the fruit.
The grower handles enquiries. Response times are still to be confirmed.