Draft Revised Guidance on the Definition of Residue

This guidance document supersedes the OECD (2009) Guidance Document on the Definition of Residue (Series on Pesticides No. 31 ENV/JM/MONO(2009)30). The primary goal of this document is to provide guidance for deriving residue definitions for the purposes of Maximum Residue Limit or Level (MRL)/tolerance enforcement/monitoring and for dietary risk assessment.

This guidance provides a systematic approach for deriving residue definitions in order to increase consistency across national and international systems, to promote global harmonisation of residue definitions and the associated MRLs, including MRLs on imported commodities, thereby facilitating trade. 

The draft revised Guidance Document on the Definition of Residue is currently undergoing a first commenting round by the Working Party of the National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines Programme (WNT) and the Working Party of Pesticides (WPP), and is open to public comments at the same time. Interested parties are invited to submit comments to/contact their National Coordinators at least a week before 13 February 2026.  

• Draft revised Guidance Document on the Definition of Residue