02 October 2026, Brussels: The Council of the European Union agreed on September 30, 2026, to a negotiating position that would lower maximum residue levels (MRLs) on imported food and feed to “technical zero,” the limit of quantification, for pesticide active substances that are banned for use inside the EU on health or environmental grounds. The decision is part of a broader “Omnibus X” package aimed at simplifying food and feed safety rules, and it sits alongside separate provisions that extend how long pesticide active substances can stay approved in the bloc.
The import measure targets substances the EU no longer permits domestically because they are linked to cancer, reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption, or long-term environmental harm. The Council’s mandate also broadens the scope of this zero-tolerance approach to cover pesticides judged to pose unacceptable risks to honeybees or groundwater, even if those substances are not carcinogens or reproductive toxicants. In practical terms, this means food and feed shipments arriving in the EU could be rejected at the border if they carry detectable residues of these chemicals, regardless of whether the exporting country still permits their use on crops.
To soften the immediate commercial impact, the Council included transitional provisions allowing products that complied with the previous, higher MRLs to remain on the market for a limited period after the new limits take effect, a measure officials framed as necessary to avoid unnecessary food waste. The mandate does not specify the length of this transition window, which will likely be negotiated with the European Parliament.
The same Council meeting also addressed how long pesticide active substances can be approved for use within the EU itself. Ministers capped most approvals at 15 years on first authorization, with renewals allowed for up to 25 years, a middle path between the European Commission’s original proposal for unlimited approvals and calls from some member states and environmental groups for shorter, fixed terms. Low-risk substances remain eligible for unlimited approval, while substances approved only under derogation face a tighter five-year cap on both initial approval and renewal.
Alongside the duration changes, the Council agreed to extend data protection periods for the test and study data companies submit to support registrations, from 10 to 13 years for conventional products and from 13 to 15 years for low-risk products. The package also introduces a fast-track, priority assessment procedure for biocontrol substances, adds new European Food Safety Authority literature-review requirements for substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction, and sets up a new EU-level database for test reports. A related biocidal products measure mirrors the 15-year and 25-year approval structure.
Ireland, which holds the rotating Council presidency, will now negotiate with the European Parliament once it adopts its own position, with both sides targeting a provisional agreement on the full Omnibus X package by the end of 2026. Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, said the agreement delivers “a more competitive and resilient European agrifood sector, with less red tape and no compromise on food safety or environmental protection.” Martin Heydon, Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said farmers and agrifood businesses “need greater predictability and fewer unnecessary burdens so they can invest, innovate and compete in the global market, while maintaining the high health and environmental standards.”
For global agribusiness, the import-MRL provision is the part worth watching most closely. Countries that export produce, grains, spices, or processed food to the EU but still register or permit pesticides the bloc has withdrawn domestically could face a sharply narrower compliance margin once this rule takes effect, even on shipments that currently clear EU customs without issue. Exporters and their regulators in major agricultural economies will likely need to reassess which active ingredients remain usable on EU-bound crops well before the Omnibus X package is finalized, since the zero-tolerance threshold leaves little room for the residue variability that current MRLs tolerate.
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