A new analysis of produce imported to the U.K. found the presence of 48 pesticides not approved for use by farmers in Britain.
The Guardian reported many of these pesticides are linked to cancer and other human health impacts, while one identified pesticide can be lethal to bees.
What's happening?
The analysis from the Pesticide Action Network uncovered pesticides not approved for use by British farmers in produce imported into the U.K. Among the 48 pesticides detected in imported foods, 46 are associated with cancer, and 29 are classified as endocrine disruptors, which can interfere with hormone systems and cause health issues.
Exporters of the analyzed produce included the U.S., Peru, Thailand, Turkey, and countries in the European Union
PAN also analyzed data on U.K.-grown produce, finding banned pesticides in domestic foods. The analysis identified 19 cancer-linked pesticides and 12 endocrine-disrupting pesticides in food of U.K. origin.
"While the results for U.K. produce are also concerning, when it comes to pesticides that pose a risk to consumer health, imports tend to be far worse than food grown here in the U.K.," PAN policy officer Nick Mole said in a release. "The imported food tested by the government contained almost three times the number of highly hazardous pesticides, including carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and neurotoxins."
Issuing a list of produce most likely to contain multiple pesticides, PAN found the biggest offenders to be soft citrus fruit, such as tangerines and clementines.
As the Guardian reported, a whopping 96% of tested soft citrus fruits had more than one pesticide present. Oranges came in second with 95% containing pesticides, while grapes were found to have the highest number of pesticides per tested produce at 13 pesticides on one piece of fruit. About 87% of grapes sampled had multiple pesticides present.
Why is avoiding pesticides important?
The full impact of pesticides on consumer health remains unclear, as most research has focused on occupational exposure rather than dietary exposure from food, according to one 2023 scientific review.
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All the time 😨 However, pesticide exposure has been linked to health issues such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and endocrine disruption.
While there may be debates about how detrimental pesticides are to human health, the impact of such chemicals on the environment is sorely seen and felt. Pesticide use negatively impacts the natural world, contaminating soil, leaching into waterways, and killing or sickening wildlife. Pesticides also disrupt vital natural ecosystems and can destroy native plant life.
What's being done to stop pesticide use around the globe?
Despite efforts to regulate the use of pesticides, the harmful chemicals remain a cornerstone of large-scale agriculture. When one pesticide is banned from use, it is often replaced by alternatives that can be equally or even more harmful. This creates a cycle of dependency on pesticides with no clear solution in sight.
Reducing pesticide use and adopting more sustainable agricultural practices is critical to protecting public health and the environment. Consumer advocates call for stronger measures against pesticide use, including better inspections of imported food, increased support for organic farming, and more research into the health risks posed by pesticides.
In its report, PAN called on the British government to address the use of pesticides in produce grown in the country and abroad.
"The U.K. government is allowing larger amounts of chemicals to appear in an ever-growing list of common food items," Mole said in the release. "They urgently need to reverse this current trend."
In response to PAN's report, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the Guardian: "We have strict limits on pesticide residues in place, set after rigorous risk assessments to ensure levels are safe for the public. These limits apply to both food produced domestically and imported from other countries."
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