Studies on food produced in New Zealand have concluded that there are “no chemical residue food safety concerns” in the average diet, the country’s food safety regulator has said.
The comments came following the New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s (NZFSA) latest results on its Total Diet Study (TDS).
The five-yearly study tests more than 120 commonly eaten foods to estimate New Zealanders’ dietary exposure to chemical residues, contaminants and selected nutrients.
“So far, the results are extremely pleasing and reaffirm that residues in food are not a problem in New Zealand,” project manager Cherie Flynn said.
“Once again New Zealand food producers have proven, almost without exception, to have high regard for good agricultural practice and are taking care to meet all regulatory requirements.”
Sixty-three foods available nationally were tested in the second quarter and these results will be available “shortly”, NZFSA said.