WASHINGTON, D.C. (NAFB) – Top House Agriculture lawmakers want the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office to resolve an issue regarding European Union aflatoxin testing in peanuts.

House Agriculture Committee Chair David Scott and House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee Chair Sanford Bishop sent a letter on the matter to USTR this week.

The Georgia lawmakers say the non-tariff trade barrier impacts “American peanut farmers and the entire U.S. peanut industry.”

Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring contaminant that affects a variety of crops, including peanuts. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration established a maximum threshold for aflatoxin of 15 parts per billion for raw peanuts and 20 parts per billion for peanut products. However, the EU enforces an extra level of testing at European ports and maintains thresholds for aflatoxin that range from as low as two parts per billion to 15 parts per billion.

The U.S. peanut industry estimates approximately $170 million in lost sales in recent years because of the strict testing requirements.