# Pesticide MRL lookup: find the GB crop and residue entry URL: https://leafwrit.com/uk/gb-mrl-crop-residue-check/ Reviewed: 2026-10-29 [Open HSE's GB MRL Statutory Register](https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/MRLs/Main) for a **pesticide MRL** check concerning Great Britain. Read its explanatory notes, then open the linked search. Use the commodity route when the enquiry starts with a food, or the residue-definition and active-substance route when it starts with a residue. GB MRLs apply in Great Britain; Northern Ireland uses the EU system, with a specific exception for eligible NIRMS movements. The [NI and EU residue guide](/uk/ni-export-residue-checklist/) covers the EU database and the NI supply route. ## MRL in agriculture: what a pesticide MRL register entry answers MRL means maximum residue level: the maximum pesticide-residue concentration in or on food or feed. It reflects residues remaining after correct plant-protection-product use. It is not the product dose in an application plan. A register entry comes with a residue definition, applicable dates, transition provisions, amendment history and the register part that contains it. For a question about applying a container to a crop, start with the [HSE product-register guide](/uk/hse-gb-pesticides-approval-register/). An MRL does not identify the product notice or application conditions. ## Prepare the commodity description Choose **Commodity/Code** or **Residue Definition/Active** according to the starting information. The commodity list uses category, group, subgroup and commodity levels. For processed commodities, assess the raw agricultural commodity MRL and relevant processing factors. ## Use the residue-definition route The search offers **Search by Residue Definition / Active Substance**. Its selector is labelled **Select Residue Definition/Active (5 max)**. The limit is on the number of search entries. Residue definitions can differ between commodities. The analytes in a laboratory report have to match the definition for that commodity. For a glyphosate MRL, chlorpyrifos MRL or piperonyl butoxide MRL, select the substance in the residue-definition search and then the crop. ## Use the commodity route The alternative search is **Search by Commodity / Code**. The service permits selection of an individual commodity for that search. Enable JavaScript if the official search controls fail to operate. ## Read the register part and its purpose Identify whether the result belongs to definitive or temporary MRL entries, substances exempt from MRLs, or a default provision. A temporary entry may have a limited scope, an expiry and requirements for supplementary information. ## Global MRL database, Codex standard for pesticide residue and EU MRLs: which list applies There is no single global MRL database or global LMR database that decides a GB result. Three lists are involved. Codex maximum residue levels (CXLs) are internationally agreed food standards covering pesticide residues in or on food and feed, and adopted CXLs are added to the GB MRL Statutory Register. GB MRLs apply to produce treated in GB or imported into GB, while EU MRLs apply in Northern Ireland. EU MRLs are searched in the European Commission's EU pesticides database, the web version of the EU list. Look the limit up in the register's search form on the day you need it, not in a saved copy of maximum residue limits for pesticides as a PDF: amended MRLs appear in the register only from the date of entry into force, so an older file can show a value that has since changed. ## Review dates and amendment history Check entry-into-force dates, transitional provisions and amendment history. A deferred amendment may appear in a decision document before its new value appears in the register. ## Codex Alimentarius MRL: separate Codex evidence from the GB result Codex maximum residue limits, or CXLs, are internationally agreed standards. After the GB assessment and adoption process, adopted limits enter the GB register. ## Agrochemical residues: legal limits and consumer risk assessment **GB and EU MRLs can diverge over time**. The UK monitoring programme is **risk based**. Health assessment distinguishes **acute**, short-term exposure from **chronic**, long-term exposure. Exceeding a reference dose does **not automatically mean adverse health effects are expected**. A residue finding, a legal-limit comparison and a health-risk assessment are related but separate results. ## Reading residue terminology in a report Herbicide and insecticide residue reports identify measured substances and concentrations. The measured concentration is not the MRL. Acute and chronic exposure are assessed separately. ## Understand the numbered register parts **Part 1** identifies products or parts of products covered by MRLs. **Part 2** contains definitive limits. **Part 3** contains temporary limits, including combinations covering emergency authorisations or cross-contamination. Some temporary limits expire and require supplementary information. **Part 4** identifies substances exempt from MRLs for their relevant uses. **Part 5** contains specified default values, commonly for substances no longer approved. **Part 6** is reserved for processing concentration or dilution factors; it currently contains none. **Part 7** covers specified post-harvest fumigant combinations, subject to controls preventing supply before residues comply. If an active substance is absent from Parts 2–5, the default MRL is **0.01 mg/kg**. ## Match health assessment to the consumption scenario Acute assessment considers short-term intake; chronic assessment considers repeated intake over a longer period. The calculation uses residue information, food-consumption assumptions and toxicological reference values. An import tolerance is a residue limit established for imported food or feed to meet international-trade needs. The GB register holds the adopted commodity–residue limit. Businesses involved in storage, processing, transport, distribution and sale also have residue-compliance responsibilities. ## Next step Search the [GB MRL register](https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/MRLs/Main) with the commodity and full residue definition. Use the [residue-testing guide](/uk/pesticide-residue-testing/) to check whether the analytical report covers that definition.