EU MRL

Agro

Maximum Residue Level — maximum permitted level of pesticide residue in or on food in the EU.

Sources

1. EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 (maximum residue levels of pesticides) eur-lex.europa.eu accessed 23 September 2026

The governing instrument is Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, which defines an MRL as “the upper legal level of a concentration for a pesticide residue in or on food or feed set in accordance with this Regulation, based on good agricultural practice and the lowest consumer exposure necessary to protect vulnerable consumers”. Where no specific MRL is set for a product, Article 18(1)(b) applies a default of 0.01 mg/kg, subject to listed exceptions — effectively the limit of detection, and the trap for exporters using a pesticide that is legal at home but has no EU entry.

Quoted from the regulation. Specific MRLs sit in its annexes and change frequently; check the EU pesticide database for the substance and crop in question before shipping.

Common questions

What is the EU MRL and how do I ensure compliance?

Maximum Residue Level (MRL) is the maximum legally permitted level of pesticide residue in or on food in the EU. EU MRLs are often stricter than Codex Alimentarius standards. To ensure compliance: (1) check EU MRLs for your product and specific pesticides on the EU Pesticides Database (ec.europa.eu/pesticides), (2) use only EU-authorised pesticides during cultivation, (3) test your product at an EU-accredited laboratory (or Indian NABL-accredited lab with EU standard methods) before export, (4) keep test certificates for at least 5 years. EU Border inspection posts (BIPs) routinely test Indian agro-food for MRL compliance.

Related terms

• Basmati Rice GI
• Darjeeling Tea GI
• EU Novel Food
• EU Organic Regulation
• EUDR Agro
• ISPM 15

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).