Cumulative exposure to residues of plant protection products via food in the Netherlands

People are exposed to residues of different plant protection products via food. This can be due to the consumption of different foods which contain different residues or because more than one residue is present in a food product. RIVM has analysed this so called cumulative exposure to residues from plant protection products via food. In this study, substances that may affect the thyroid and those that may affect the nervous system were included. The current exposure to these substances is not likely to cause a health effect on the thyroid. With regard to the substances that may affect the nervous system a risk cannot be excluded. This is because the margin between the calculated exposure and the limit that is considered safe is relatively small. The real exposure is most likely lower than the calculated exposure, due to uncertainties in the calculation. Cumulative exposure assessment is based on the assumption that only substances that affect the same organ should be summed. To analyse the safety of cumulative exposure to all residues of plant protection products via food, it is necessary to determine which substances should be summed for other organs than the thyroid and nervous system. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is currently working on further grouping of substances. This requires analysis of all the available data on adverse effects of residues in plant protection products.