Foodwatch report: 90% of European supermarket bread contains pesticide residues

More than a third of cereal products and more than 90% of bakery products sold in supermarkets in the European Union contain pesticide residues, which, however, rarely exceed the regulatory threshold, according to the latest report of the NGO Foodwatch.

Based on data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the report shows that more than a third (37%) of cereal products contain one or more pesticides. From a sample of 2,234 products analyzed in European supermarkets, but mainly in those in Germany, France and Ireland, 837 were contaminated with 65 pesticides.

The most used pesticides, fungicides and insecticides found in the analyzed products are Chlormequat (25.7%) - a plant growth regulator, followed by Pirimiphos-methyl (16.5%) - present in many insecticides applied during grain storage, butoxide of piperonil (14.2%), cypermethrin (8%), deltamethrin (7.3%), tebuconazole (3.9%) and glyphosate (3.6%).

However, of the 1,215 residues found, only 18 exceeded the regulatory threshold, i.e. the maximum residue limit (MRL) set for each active substance by the European Commission based on EFSA data.

Similarly, the amount of residue varies considerably from one product to another, being below 10% in rye and hop samples and reaching almost 90% in bread and other wheat bakery products.

Camille Dorioz, campaigns manager at Foodwatch, said, according to a press release issued by the non-governmental organization: "The impact of these pesticide residues on our health is largely unknown in the long term, especially if it does not involve a cocktail of these. substances or the ingestion of different molecules for days'.

In Europe, cereals such as wheat or maize take up cultivated land, and cereal crops receive more than 50% of pesticide treatments in France and 45% in Germany, the Foodwatch report shows. However, the graph in the report shows that farmers in Ireland use the highest amount of synthetic pesticides per hectare, followed by those in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the latter having only a small area under cultivation. In, our country is in a favorable situation since 2013 and so far has considerably reduced the amount of synthetic fertilizers used in agricultural crops.

In the cited document, Foodwatch experts show that distributors do not have a global strategy to reduce pesticides in their grain-based products. They are even accused of running marketing campaigns that generate "distortions likely to mislead consumers."

However, there are also some exceptions mentioned in that paper: genetically modified organisms) or growth regulators". Foodwatch is therefore calling for these practices to be widespread.

"Across Europe, distributors have a role to play in this essential change," the organization concludes in its study. It also outlines some measures, such as the establishment of subsidies and financial incentives for practice that allow the effective reduction of pesticide use or the implementation of a European tax on pesticide use.

Since their country was nominated as a negative example in this report, the members of Intercereales - an association of French cereal producers -, although they do not dispute the figures in the report, accuse the NGO of "inducing fear in French and European consumers", according to euractiv. .fr.

French farmers claim that 63% of the samples do not contain traces of residues, and the others are very far from the thresholds defined in the regulations.

A press release from Intercereales mentioned by the quoted source states: "The Foodwatch study confirms, contrary to what the NGO explains, that the regulations are respected and that there is no risk to the health of consumers [...] The control system. shows full effectiveness".

In 2022, Foodwatch published a study on pesticide-free European agriculture, which, according to the NGO's experts, could be achieved within the next decade. According to that study, the best cultures for eliminating pesticides are those of wheat and corn, because there are much cheaper and easier methods for farmers for alternative pest control. Foodwatch experts say that stopping the use of pesticides on grain is the fastest and most cost-effective way to save bees, insects and plants, and the best solution to prevent diseases such as cancer, impotence and depression for farm workers, those who live in rural areas and for consumers.

In the cited document, Foodwatch experts say: "Our goal is that all cereal products sold in EU supermarkets are produced without the use of pesticides. Our demand is for total transparency from farmers and producers to improve consumer safety, transparency to which all retailers in the European Union adhere, as supermarkets are the ones who decide what products to offer to consumers and thus influence how significantly what the suppliers produce".

That is why, at the end of the Foodwatch report, it calls on retailers to purchase, starting in 2025, only bakery products from grains that have not been treated with pesticides, and to ensure total transparency by publishing annual reports on the pesticide content of the products put for sale.