A consignment of 24 tonnes of oranges dispatched from Egypt and intended for the local market has just been withheld by the Port Health Services within the Health Inspectorate Services  This consignment was withheld when samples taken to test for the presence of pesticides indicated that maximum residue levels for the chemical ethion laid down in Regulation (EC) number 396/2005 as amended by Regulation (UE) number 410/2011 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin, has been exceeded.

This monitoring is carried out as required by Commission Regulation (EC) Number 669 of 2009 and as required to be done in such cases, Malta will inform member states of these results through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed.

More information about import controls can be obtained from the site https://ehealth.gov.mt/HealthPortal/public_health/environmental-health/health_inspectorate/port_health_services/port_health_services_objective.aspx or by accessing Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Environmental-Health-Directorate-Malta/145027878928626 for similar information.