Regulation of pesticides in the European Union
Okay kiddo, so you know how sometimes farmers use pesticides to keep bugs and insects from eating their crops? Well, the European Union (EU) is a big group of countries in Europe who work together to make sure everyone is safe and healthy.
One of the things the EU does is regulate the use of pesticides, which means they make rules about how much farmers can use, which pesticides they can use, and how they can use them.
To make sure these rules are followed, the EU has a special agency called the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which checks the safety of pesticides before they can be used. The EFSA looks at lots of information about a pesticide, like how it affects animals and the environment, and how it breaks down over time.
If the EFSA thinks a pesticide is safe enough to use, then the EU will allow it to be used, but only within very strict limits. These limits are set to make sure that people who eat the fruits and vegetables grown with pesticides are not harmed.
And if a pesticide is found to be dangerous, the EU will not allow it to be used at all, even though it could be tempting for farmers to use it to protect their crops.
So, in a nutshell, the EU has rules and agencies in place to make sure that farmers use only safe amounts and types of pesticides to protect their crops, and that people who eat the crops are not harmed.
One of the things the EU does is regulate the use of pesticides, which means they make rules about how much farmers can use, which pesticides they can use, and how they can use them.
To make sure these rules are followed, the EU has a special agency called the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which checks the safety of pesticides before they can be used. The EFSA looks at lots of information about a pesticide, like how it affects animals and the environment, and how it breaks down over time.
If the EFSA thinks a pesticide is safe enough to use, then the EU will allow it to be used, but only within very strict limits. These limits are set to make sure that people who eat the fruits and vegetables grown with pesticides are not harmed.
And if a pesticide is found to be dangerous, the EU will not allow it to be used at all, even though it could be tempting for farmers to use it to protect their crops.
So, in a nutshell, the EU has rules and agencies in place to make sure that farmers use only safe amounts and types of pesticides to protect their crops, and that people who eat the crops are not harmed.