Reporting data on pesticide residues in food and feed according to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 (2018 data collection)

According to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed, Member States have to monitor pesticide residue levels in food samples and submit the monitoring results to EFSA and the European Commission. The Standard Sample Description (SSD, version 1) is the data model used for reporting the data on analytical measurements of chemical substances occurring in food, feed and water to EFSA. This document is a consolidated version of the past four years’ guidance defining the appropriate SSD codes to describe the samples and the analytical results and it gives directions for the reporting of the pesticide residues monitoring data starting with the data generated in 2018 onwards. These provisions take into account the experience of both the previous reporting seasons and the new legislation applicable in 2018. This EFSA Guidance will not be applicable for the 2019 data collection provided to EFSA in 2020. In 2020, all data on annual monitoring will be transmitted in SSD2 format only.