‘Highly hazardous’ pesticides discovered in UK fruit & vegetables

‘Highly hazardous’ pesticides discovered in ‘dirty dozen’ list of UK fruit & vegetables, according to government data analysed by experts.

The Pesticide Action Network (PAN) has discovered more than 120 pesticides in the 12 most contaminated fruit & vegetables available on shelves in Britain. Oranges and grapes are the worst offenders and were found to contain a “cocktail” of the pesticides.

Some of the pesticides discovered in PAN’s analysis have been linked to issues such as cancer, damage of the respiratory system and even mental issues like confusion.

According to PAN, the worst offenders were grapes and oranges. 87.2 per cent and 86.7 per cent of samples were discovered to have residues of pesticides. PAN have called the worst 12 items the “dirty dozen”.

Nick Mole, PAN UK’s policy officer, explained: “Consumers presume that their food has been through rigorous testing and that if an item is available for sale in the UK then it must be safe. Unfortunately this is not necessarily the case.”

He also stressed that members of the public tend to have a “very limited understanding of the long-term impacts to human health” of pesticides. He hopes that the government will introduce a better testing regime in the future.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have commented on the results from PAN’s study. The Department said: “all food sold in the UK must meet strict rules on pesticide residue to ensure it is safe to eat,” adding that the current rules “are enforced via a comprehensive residues monitoring programme overseen by an independent specialist body.”

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