The Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) performed an audit in Mexico in order to evaluate the pesticide controls in food of plant origin intended for export to the EU. There are good news and bad news, but the fruit can generally be considered safe.
“Although legislation for the authorisation of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) and pesticide controls is in place, the authorisation system is ineffective, as authorisations granted according to superseded legislation do not expire. The system is not sufficiently transparent, because up-to-date information on the authorised use is not publicly available. The quality of PPPs on the market is not controlled.
While considerable weaknesses were found in the official control systems, the private controls generally provide sufficient guarantees that limes exported to the EU comply with EU MRL’s.”