KUALA LUMPUR: The non-compliance rate for pesticide residue in vegetables sampled from the market climbed to 14.1% in the first half of this year from 9.0% in 2023, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
Dzulkefly said 437 of the 4,454 vegetable samples taken from the market between 2021 and June this year, or 9.8%, failed to comply with the prescribed maximum residue limit.
"The non-compliance rate for vegetable samples has shown a consistent and worrying increase since 2023," he said, adding that the first-half figure was the highest rate for the period.
He said this when winding up debates on the Food (Amendment) Bill 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 8).
For fruit, 74 of 1,366 market samples, or 5.4%, failed to comply over the same period.
The fruit non-compliance rate rose significantly to 11.9% in 2024 before falling to 6.1% in 2025 and 3.1% in the first half of this year, he said.
At entry points, 81 of 2,287 vegetable samples, or 3.5%, and 116 of 2,432 fruit samples, or 4.8%, taken between 2022 and June this year contained pesticide residue above the maximum residue limit.
Dzulkefly said the ministry used farm-level monitoring data from the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry to plan risk-based sampling of vegetables and fruits.
Importers of vegetables and fruits identified as high-risk must submit a Certificate of Analysis, he added.
