Last year, the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), managed to prevent the entry of 17 cargoes of beans, 8 cargoes of rice and 4 cargoes of corn, from different origins, because they failed to comply with the maximum pesticide residue limits.
The beans came mainly from Nicaragua, although there was a shipment from Argentina.
The rice came into pellets from Brazil, and the corn came from Paraguay and Argentina.
Fruits such as grapes, apple, watermelon, plum, avocado, peach and strawberries with pesticide residues above the permitted limits were also reported, as well as those with prohibited agrochemicals or with no limits established on global regulations such as the Codex Alimentarius, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Union (EU).
These products came from Chile, Guatemala, France, Canada, Peru, Nicaragua and the United States.
Other products with lower residue rates were cucumber, cauliflower, sesame seeds, spices (black pepper and niger), and sweet potato from Nicaragua, Mexico, India, Canada, Spain and Honduras.
According to William Arrieta, from the Department of Agricultural Chemicals and Equipment, in 2016 over 3000 studies were performed on imported products to ensure the protection of consumers. In addition, similar analysis were conducted on domestic products for domestic consumption.