EU auditors criticise Belgium over lack of pesticide checks on imported olive oil
Olive oil imported from outside the EU is only sporadically checked for the presence of pesticides, according to a report published on Wednesday by the European Court of Auditors. The lack of controls at Belgian border inspection posts is cited as one of the shortcomings.
Most olive oil consumed in the EU is produced within the bloc and is subject to systematic pesticide checks. The problems identified by the auditors mainly concern the roughly 9 per cent of olive oil imported from outside the EU, primarily from Tunisia, Turkey, Argentina and Morocco.
The auditors examined control systems in four member states, including Belgium, and found that checks for pesticides and other contaminants in olive oil imported from non-EU countries "are either non-existent or very limited". Belgium also does not have plans to carry out those checks at border control posts, according to the report.
The auditors also checked Spain, Greece and Italy, three of the EU’s main olive oil producers. Greece did not introduce such checks until 2024, while in Italy, "no consignments were checked at the main entry points for olive oil" in either 2023 or 2024. And in Spain, "only three samples were analysed for pesticide residues, and 50 for other contaminants" between 2018 and 2023.
Worried European farmers
The potential presence of banned pesticides in imported products is a particularly sensitive issue for European farmers. Agricultural organisations opposing the EU’s free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries in Latin America have repeatedly pointed to the lack of effective pesticide controls as one of their main concerns.
The European Commission responded by stressing that imported olive oil "must be controlled in the same way as European production". It said it intends to offer "technical assistance" to help member states strengthen their control systems.
PHOTO © FETHI BELAID / AFP
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