Cancer-linked pesticides found on fruit spark public health concerns

The UK Government tested 3,482 food and drink samples for pesticide residues last year, purchased from a range of sources including supermarkets.

Campaigners from the Pesticide Action Network UK (Pan UK), who analysed the quarterly test results, said 123 different chemicals were detected across 17 types of fruit and vegetables in 2024.

These included 42 pesticides that have links to cancer and 21 known to interfere with hormone systems, the group found.

According to their analysis, grapes were one of the worst offenders, with one sample of sultana grapes imported from Turkey containing residues of 16 different pesticides, including the PFA chemicals fluxapyroxad, cyflufenamid, fluopyram, and trifloxystrobin.

Called “forever chemicals” because they can take centuries to break down in the environment, PFAs can accumulate in the bodies of living organisms and have been linked to severe health conditions.

Of the 108 grape samples tested, 90% were also found to have multiple pesticides present.

For grapefruit, the Government tested 121 samples, 99% of which had multiple pesticide residues present, with one 1kg sample found to contain 10 different pesticides.

Elsewhere, 79% of the 24 lime samples tested contained multiple pesticides, followed by 67% of the 73 banana samples tested, 49% of the 96 sweet pepper samples tested and 46% of the 97 melons tested.

One sample of chili peppers were found to contain 11 different pesticides, while another sample of broccoli was found to contain eight.

The Environment Committee that carries out the test – the Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues In Food, or PRiF – said that 51.26% of samples tested in 2024 contained none of the residues sought.

Its report said 46.67% of samples tested contained a residue but this was below the maximum residue level (MRL) allowed in food by law, while 2.07% contained a residue above this level.

It also says the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducts a risk assessment of all pesticide residues found in the testing programme and takes further action if risks to health are identified.

Finding residues above the MRL “does not necessarily mean that there will be the possibility of adverse health effects”, it notes.

However, Pan UK argues that MRLs do not guarantee the mixture of pesticides found in the food is safe and do not take into account the many other routes of potential PFA exposure, such as plastic food packaging, drinking water and a wide range of household products.

Nick Mole, who conducted the analysis for Pan UK, said: “Safety limits are set for one pesticide at a time, completely ignoring the fact that it’s all too common for food to contain multiple chemicals.

“The truth is we know very little about how these chemicals interact with each other, or what this exposure to hundreds of different pesticides is doing to our health in the long-term.

“What we do know is that pesticides can become more toxic when combined, a phenomenon known as ‘the cocktail effect’.

“Given how high the stakes are, the Government should be doing everything it can to get pesticides out of our food.”

The campaign group also found that 29% of the pesticides detected in the testing are not approved for use by British farmers, often because of the harms they cause to health or environment.

These chemicals can end up in UK food after being imported from other countries outside the EU where they are permitted.

Pan UK said it is urging the UK Government to take a range of measures to protect consumers from pesticides in food.

This includes to cutting the UK’s overall pesticide use significantly, expanding the target to reduce pesticides in the arable sector to cover fruit and vegetables, refusing entry to food imports grown with pesticides banned domestically, and providing British farmers with a comprehensive package of support to help them transition to non-chemical alternatives.

PA has contacted the Environment Department for comment.