Fruit and vegetables in the EU are increasingly contaminated with toxic PFAS – the so-called ‘forever chemicals’ that the Commission dropped plans to ban last year – a study by the European Pesticides Action Network (PAN Europe) has found.
“The proportion of fruit and vegetables containing residues of PFAS pesticides in the EU has nearly tripled over the decade,” warns the study, published on Tuesday (27 February).
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known to resist degradation in the environment and to have an impact on human health if not properly managed.
PFAS are widely used in various industrial sectors for their non-stick, heat-resistant and waterproofing properties, as well as in food packaging and pesticide formulations, resulting in residues that can be found in food products and drinking water.
According to the report, in 2021, 20% of fruit grown in the EU contained residues of at least one PFAS pesticide.
In January 2023, four EU countries – Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands – and Norway urged the EU chemicals agency (ECHA) to start a new risk assessment on PFAS.
The European Commission published in 2020 a “chemicals strategy for sustainability” aimed, among other things, at phasing out PFAS unless they were “proven essential for society”.
However, the EU executive has not yet made a proposal to this effect.
“The approval of PFAS pesticides, often applied in mixtures, highlights significant shortcomings in both EU and national pesticide assessments,” said the PAN Europe chief scientist Angeliki Lysimachou, adding that their persistence and toxic properties “should have led to their swift ban”.
Increasing trends
According to the authors of the study, which covers EU-wide data from 2011 to 2021, the proportion of products containing residues of PFAS pesticides has risen by 220% for fruit and 274% for vegetables.
The highest increases in PFAS contamination in national production were found in Austria and Greece.
In 2021, the most frequently detected PFAS in contaminated EU products were the fungicide fluopyram, the insecticide flonicamid and the fungicide trifloxystrobin.
Fruit vs vegetables
The report shows that, on average, a smaller percentage of vegetables (12%) are contaminated with PFAS pesticide residues than fruit (20%).
However, some vegetables are “as frequently contaminated as the top-ranked fruit”, the report reads. The highest rates are found in chicory (42%), cucumbers (30%) and peppers (27%).
Among fruits, summer varieties are the most frequently contaminated – strawberries (37%), peaches (35%) and apricots (31%).
