Fruits and vegetables are increasingly contaminated by “forever chemicals”, warns an NGO

Residues of traceable “forever chemical” toxic substances on fruit and vegetables have tripled in the EU over the past ten years, according to an NGO report published today (27 February).

The Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe report claimed to track residues of 31 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – known as “forever chemicals” because they are impossible to eradicate – in EU fruit and vegetables between 2011 and 2021.

The study, based on official data from national monitoring programs for pesticide residues in food, focused on Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands Bas and Spain, with references to other EU countries in the analysis.

According to the assessment, over the past decade, the number of non-organic fruits and vegetables with PFAS residues – determined by their detectability rather than by exceeding legal levels – increased by 220% for fruits and by 274 % for vegetables. the sharpest average increase being recorded for apricots (+333%), peaches (+362%) and strawberries (+534%).

Summer fruits produced in the EU found higher levels of PFAS, according to the study, highlighting strawberries (37% vs. 12%), peaches (35% vs. 11%) and apricots ( 31% versus 21%). As for vegetables, if European products are on average less contaminated than fruits (20%), the analysis affirms that endives (42%), cucumbers (30%), peppers (27%) are particularly polluted.

“Our study reveals deliberate, chronic and widespread exposure of European consumers to cocktails of PFAS pesticides in fruits and vegetables,” said Salomé Roynel, policy officer at PAN Europe, which has called for a ban on PFAS active substances. in pesticides as well as the manufacture and export of these chemicals.

In February 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published a proposal to restrict around 10,000 PFAS. Peter Pierrou, communications director of the Sweden-based International Chemicals Secretariat, lamented that the proposed ban “neglects pesticides.”

Roynel of PAN Europe asserted that “their (PFAS) toxicity to human health is already well documented, including risks to unborn children, brain damage, endocrine disruption and cancer. Additionally, the impact of pesticide mixtures is simply not studied.”

The report states that in the case of PFAS, any level of exposure is considered “problematic”, as PAN Europe considers even legally acceptable traces of these chemicals to be harmful.

The Netherlands (27%) and Belgium (27%), followed by Austria (25%), Spain (22%) and Portugal (21%) were responsible for the production of products containing the most levels of PFAS, according to the report. Among imported fruits and vegetables, those most likely to contain PFAS pesticide residue are those from Costa Rica (41%), India (38%), South Africa (28%), Colombia (26%) and Morocco (24%).

Kevin Heylen, senior manager of regulatory affairs at CropLife Europe, a Brussels lobby specializing in pesticides and plant biotechnology, said that all substances, whether on the market or under development, are “tested extensively ”, in accordance with the legislation in force on plant protection products.

“(This is done) to ensure that they do not negatively impact humans, the environment, biodiversity or bodies of water when used as recommended,” Heylen told Euronews.

Dany Bylemans, chief executive of pcfruit, a fruit research center based in Belgium, said he was “not aware” of the presence of PFAS in fruit.

“Our Belgian Food Agency carried out a number of samples in the area of ​​the 3M PFAS production plant (near Antwerp) when pollution from this company became evident. Residues were found in eggs from free-range chickens, but no PFAS residues were found on fruits or vegetables, whereas in this region PFAS can be found in soil samples,” she said. Bylemans told Euronews.

In 2020, EFSA set a new safety threshold of 4.4 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per week for major PFAS that accumulate in the body. In response to the PAN Europe study, the European Food Agency told Euronews that it is “currently collecting available data on the presence of PFAS” following a “general call to collect data on the presence of chemical contaminants in food and feed.

The commission and ECHA did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.