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To develop
either an animal health or a plant protection product costs
approximately €200m and takes 10 years in research and development.
Only 1:20,000 molecules discovered will actually make it to
the market.
In Ireland,
the Irish Medicines Board and
the Pesticide Control Service licence animal health and plant
protection products respectively. Highly qualified and independent
regulators assess the products in advance of marketing, providing
essential reassurance in relation to public safety.
In order
to ensure the correct use of products, the regulatory authorities
carry out ongoing monitoring of food products in relation to
residue presence. The Department
of Agriculture and Food analyses approximately
70,000 samples of animal derived food products per year. 2001
results show that 0.58% of samples breach the residue limits. In
the plant protection area, the monitoring programme indicates
that 3.3% of fruit and vegetable samples breach the residue limits. Where
breaches of the residue limits occur, actions are taken immediately to prevent recurrence.
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