Czech Authorities Pull Moroccan Peppers Over Dangerous Pesticide Levels

The high content of pesticide residues in Moroccan peppers exceeds the MRL by 5.5 times and six times for methomyl. The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), qualifying the situation as "serious", has seized the Czech authorities to withdraw these white peppers imported from Morocco via Spain from the market.

According to the organization cited by Hortoinfo, chlorfenvinphos was present in Moroccan peppers at a rate of 0.11 milligrams per kilogram, while its MRL is set at 0.02 milligrams per kilogram, according to the European Commission (EC) pesticide database. As for the presence of methomyl, it was 0.24 milligrams per kilogram in Moroccan peppers, its MRL being set at 0.04 milligrams per kilogram by the EC.

Methomyl is a pesticide that can cause dizziness, excessive salivation, headaches, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, weakness, convulsions, muscle cramps and loss of consciousness. Chlorfenvinphos, on the other hand, is an acaricide that acts on eggs and neonatal larvae. It has a residual activity that lasts 10 to 12 weeks.