This guidance addresses the requirements for methods used in official control plans drawn up in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/16441 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/16462.

All foodstuffs intended for human or animal consumption in the European Union (EU) are subject to a maximum residue level (MRL) of pesticides in order to protect animal and human health.

This guidance addresses the requirements for methods used in official control plans drawn up in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/16441 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/16462.

It needs to be emphasized that this document is a technical guidance for analytical methods in residues control. The MMPRs should by no means be considered as enforcement limits. They represent the minimum concentrations that official laboratories should be able to reliably identify.

This Regulation lays down rules concerning the methods of analysis used for sampling and for laboratory analyses in relation to residues of pharmacologically active substances in the frame of national plans as defined in Article 3 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1646 ( 1 ).

Either term is used to describe samples where the analytes were not present in concentrations at or exceeding the limit of quantification (LOQ). These samples contained quantified residues (i.e. above the LOQ) of one or several pesticides but in concentrations below or at the MRL.

If the relevant ecotoxicological concentration (ER50, LC50, NOEC) for the most sensitive terrestrial non-target organism is lower than 0.05 mg/kg (referring to 75 g/ha)4 the LOQ must comply with this value.

En-forcement methods are required to demonstrate appropriate limits of quantitation (LOQ), to be sufficiently selective, so that interfering substances never exceed 30% of the LOQ, and demonstrate acceptable recovery and repeatability.

In case of official food control by regulatory authorities, compliance with the MRL must be checked by assuming the lower limit of the uncertainty interval (x - U) to be the highest confirmed analyte concentration in the sample.

Document No. Analytical quality control and method validation procedures for pesticide residues analysis in Food and Feed - SANTE 11312/2021 v2026.