Shortfalls in Australia’s food pesticide residue monitoring raised almost a decade ago

Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal government has no real idea about agricultural chemicals’ impact on environment

Serious shortfalls in Australia’s monitoring of pesticide residues in food, particularly food destined for the domestic market, were identified by the federal agriculture department nearly a decade ago, documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal.

Bureaucrats in the department expressed concern about Australia’s food monitoring as early as 2014, the documents, obtained under freedom of information laws, show.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup