16-05-2025
Shocking report reveals the foods that are most likely to be laced with nasty pesticides - and it's not all fruit and veg
Common cupboard staples have been found to be laced with banned pesticides, a new report has revealed.
Traces of the chemicals were found in herbs and spices such as dried basil, parsley and cumin, as well as dried beans, chilli and honey.
High levels of the substances detected can cause digestive issues, while long term exposure has been linked to cancer.
The European Food Safety Report report analysed data from 132,793 samples of a range of foods imported to Europe, including fruit and vegetables, and found that two per cent of those tested breached legal limits, which equated to 3000 products.
They found that 42 per cent of products contained some residual pesticide traces but these were deemed safe.
The European Union has strict rules on pesticides with just 0.1 micrograms per kilo of produce allowed.
The analysis found that the chemicals were found at unsafe levels in unprocessed products like, chillies, dragon fruit, cumin seeds and grape leaves.
Some foods, like chilli peppers, were found to contain shocking numbers of different pesticides — up to 37.
Processed products like dried beans and spices made up 10 per cent of unsafe products, the analysis found.
Ethylene oxide, a pesticide not approved in Europe, was detected in 40 samples. The chemical can cause headaches, nausea, diarrhea and difficulty breathing. Long term exposure has also been linked to cancer.
The report found that the biggest risk came from importing food from countries outside the EU.
The main countries from which non-compliant products were found were Turkey, India and Egypt. Although most of these consignments were stopped at the border.
Levels of pesticides on produce from these countries were found to be three times higher than in the Union.
The report also found a number of breaches in honey and rice products imported from outside the EU.
Testing of brown rice revealed that some products contained tricyclazole, propiconazole, imidacloprid, and chlormequat chloride—all of which are banned in the EU.
A 2024 systematic review published in the journal of Toxicology Reports found that high exposure to pesticides may be linked to increased risk of cancer, infertility and respiratory problems, but the effect is most likely in agricultural workers.
Pesticides used in agriculture can often leave detectable traces of chemicals in, or on, our food known as 'residues'.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 1,000 different pesticides are used globally.
They are used in agriculture to control weeds, insect infestation and disease carriers like mosquitoes, ticks, rats and mice. They also enable farmers to protect crop quantity and quality.
Pesticide consumption has grown almost 60 per cent since 1990 reaching 2.66bn kg (5.86bn lbs) by 2020.
But the elderly, children and unborn babies are especially susceptible to the adverse effects of pesticides.
Late last year campaign group Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) used Government testing data to show 46 pesticides with links to cancer had been detected on produce imports to Britain as of the end of last year.
They say that washing or peeling fruit and vegetables can potentially reduce exposure to pesticides as some residues that appear on the surface will be eliminated, particularly traces of soil which may contain harmful bacteria.
However they warn that this will not remove all pesticides used as some are 'systemic', meaning that they are actually absorbed by a plant when applied to seeds, soil, or leaves and the residues are therefore contained within the body of the produce itself.
