Banned pesticides found in imported foods in France, data shows
Pesticides banned in France and within the European Union have been found in a substantial number of imported products. The
According to report carrid by the investigative documentary series Vert de rage (Green with Rage), produced by public French television, of 22 samples of fruits and vegetables purchased in large French supermarket chains, seven contained pesticide residues banned in Europe.
Banned substances
One example was a grapefruit from China which contained two banned products: chlorpyrifos (recognised as neurotoxic, toxic for reproduction and an endocrine disruptor, and propiconazole (recognised as toxic for reproduction).
Within the EU, chlorpyrifos has been banned since 2020, propiconazole since 2009.
Grapes from Peru contained residues of imidacloprid (part of the neonicotinoids family - known to be harmful to bees), and myclobutanil, a fungicide, which was withdrawn from the market within the EU in 2021.
Elsewhere, an orange from Tunisia contained malathion, a pesticide classified as "probably carcinogenic", banned in the EU since 2008.
ESA research
The documentary cites research done by the NGO network Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) which analysed data from the European Food Safety Authority.
It found that pesticides banned in Europe were more prevalent in certain families of products such as coffee, tea, spices and some vegetables.
Tahitian limes, passion fruit and plums are the most affected, while rice, zucchini and plantain bananas were also found to contain pesticides.
Read more on RFI English
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