The new MRL coincides with the analytical limit of determination. The measure also applies to products already placed on the market before the application date: exporters, importers and distributors must immediately review treatment programmes, analyses and stocks.
From 19 August 2026, the European requirement for ethephon residues in blueberries will change radically. The maximum residue level (MRL) will fall from 20 to 0.01 mg/kg, a 2,000-fold reduction that brings the threshold down to the analytical limit of determination.
The change is established by Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/215, adopted on 29 January 2026 and applicable in all Member States from 19 August. The measure amends Annexes II and V to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 and also changes the residue limits for dimoxystrobin and propamocarb in other products.
For the blueberry supply chain, however, the revision concerning ethephon is particularly significant because of both the scale of the reduction and the absence of the usual transitional arrangements.
Why the European Union revised the limit
Ethephon is a plant growth regulator that releases ethylene once it has been absorbed by the plant. In various production settings, it is used to influence physiological processes such as ripening, colour development or fruit detachment.
The previous European MRL for blueberries was derived from a Codex limit that was subsequently revoked. Following the renewal of the approval of the active substance, the European Food Safety Authority also proposed reducing the acceptable daily intake from 0.03 to 0.02 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
In 2024, EFSA therefore conducted a targeted review of the MRLs for ethephon. For blueberries, insufficient additional data were available to establish a new limit based on a supported agricultural use. The Commission also states in the regulation that an exceedance of the acute reference dose could not be excluded.
The decision was therefore taken to set the new MRL at 0.01 mg/kg, corresponding to the limit of determination considered analytically achievable by the European reference laboratories.
This does not formally amount to a general ban on ethephon as an active substance. From a commercial perspective, however, a limit set at the analytical level means that blueberries intended for the European market must not contain quantifiable residues above the new threshold.
No transitional protection for earlier batches
The most sensitive issue concerns the transitional provisions.
Normally, when an MRL is reduced, food legally placed on the market before the application date may continue to be marketed under the previous limit. Regulation 2026/215 provides for this possibility for numerous substance–product combinations, but introduces an explicit exception for ethephon in blueberries and apples.
Consequently, from 19 August, blueberries containing ethephon residues above 0.01 mg/kg may not remain on the European market, even if they were placed on the EU market before that date and complied with the previous MRL.
This represents a substantial operational difference. Checks do not apply only to crops harvested or consignments shipped after 19 August, but potentially also to:
consignments already imported and still in storage;
products held in packers’ and distributors’ warehouses;
blueberries in transit to the European Union;
frozen products intended for processing;
batches covered by commercial programmes established under the previous limit.
The European MRL applies to products marketed in the EU regardless of their origin. The change therefore affects both EU production and suppliers from third countries.
The greatest impact will be on origins that use ethephon
The consequences will not necessarily be the same across all production areas. Where ethephon is not used on blueberries, the new limit should mainly require an update to specifications and controls. The impact may be significantly greater in production programmes where the substance is authorised or used to manage ripening and facilitate harvesting.
For these origins, verifying compliance with national rules will not be sufficient. A use that is legal in the producing country may generate residues that are incompatible with the new European requirement.
The reduction from 20 to 0.01 mg/kg also drastically narrows the margin for accidental contamination, errors in treatment management or insufficient separation between fields and batches intended for different markets.
Urgent checks for the supply chain
Growers, exporters, importers and distributors should first determine whether ethephon is included in the crop-management programmes of supplying farms, including any applications made by third parties or during earlier stages of the season.
They should also:
update purchasing specifications and technical requirements to include the new limit of 0.01 mg/kg;
re-examine analytical certificates for batches already shipped or held in storage;
verify that laboratory methods achieve an adequate limit of quantification;
intensify checks on origins where ethephon is actually used;
assess fresh, frozen and processing products separately;
clarify in contracts which party bears the risk of non-compliance for consignments in transit or already in storage;
avoid automatically treating batches previously tested against the old MRL as compliant after 19 August.
A result below the previous limit but above 0.01 mg/kg will no longer be sufficient. Generic statements such as “compliant with EU limits” on earlier certificates will also need to be checked against the threshold actually applied by the laboratory.
A change that could affect trade flows
The commercial impact will depend on how extensively ethephon is actually used in the main countries supplying the European Union and on the residue levels found in the programmes concerned. Data from industry operators and official controls will be needed: the regulatory change alone does not make it possible to quantify the volumes potentially at risk.
However, greater supplier selection, more pre-shipment testing and a revision of agricultural practices for production intended for Europe can reasonably be expected. In the short term, difficulties could arise particularly for batches planned while the previous MRL was still the commercial reference.
The new limit therefore makes treatment traceability and the timely exchange of information throughout the supply chain essential. For blueberries, 19 August represents more than a formal update to the European tables: it is a deadline that could determine whether a consignment is accepted or rejected.
Sources: Regulation (EU) 2026/215 – EUR-Lex · EFSA targeted review of the MRLs for ethephon · AGRINFO report on ethephon · EU Pesticides Database
