European Pesticides Action Network uncovers spike in detection of “forever chemicals” in fruit and vegetables

11 Mar 2024 --- A recent report released by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe reveals a tripling in the detection of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in fruit and vegetables between 2011 and 2021. These substances, known as “forever chemicals,” have sparked health and environmental concerns due to their persistence and toxicity. 

The analysis, leveraging data from national monitoring programs focusing on Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain, with references to other EU countries, highlights an increase in PFAS residue detection by 220% for fruit and 274% for vegetables. 

Salomé Roynel, policy & campaign officer on pesticide risk assessment at PAN, tells Food Ingredients First: “Our report reveals widespread, chronic and increasing exposure to cocktails of PFAS pesticides.” 

“PFAS do not belong to our food. It suggests that more and more PFAS pesticides are being sprayed on food crops.”

Surge in contamination
Apricots, peaches, and strawberries have seen the most significant upticks, with strawberries alone showing a 534% increase in contamination. According to the report, non-organic fruit, especially summer fruit, are the products most frequently contaminated with PFAS pesticide residues.

37% of the strawberries from the EU are contaminated. The Netherlands and Belgium are more likely than all 25 other EU member states to produce fruit and vegetables that contain PFAS pesticide residues. Over 27% of fruit and vegetable samples from the Netherlands and Belgium contain traces of PFAS.

“PFAS pesticides are a subgroup of PFAS that have received less attention because they have at least one fully fluorinated carbon instead of several. This led to the assumption that these do not cause a problem, but our report shows it’s not true,” says Roynel.

PFAS, notoriously difficult to eliminate from the environment, poses risks to human health. The report underscores the toxicity of these chemicals, including their potential to harm unborn children, cause brain damage, disrupt the endocrine system, and even lead to cancer.

According to the report, the combination of different PFAS compounds, or “chemical cocktails,” and their cumulative effects remain largely unexplored, further compounding the risk.

 A recent study from Örebro University, Sweden, suggests that exposure to PFAS has been found to damage fetal development, posing long-term health risks for people “long before birth.”

Reevaluating agricultural practices
While the study focuses on the EU, the issue of PFAS contamination is global, with imported fruits and vegetables from countries like Costa Rica, India, and Morocco also showing high levels.

The findings of the report call for a reassessment of the use of PFAS in agriculture, particularly given their widespread detection in non-organic fruits and vegetables. 

“From a regulatory standpoint, eliminating PFAS pesticides simply means banning synthetic pesticides substances, toxic by design, which have a long lifespan.”

According to Roynel, PFAS pesticides represent 16% of EU-approved synthetic active substances, leaving conventional farmers with 84% of other approved substances. This means PFAS pesticides are absolutely not necessary to grow crops.

“Synthetic pesticides should only be used as a last resort once cultural, mechanical and biological methods of prevention and control of ‘pest organisms’ have failed.” 

“The ‘integrated pest management’ approach has been proven to be a very efficient way to protect crops while being a safe and sustainable way of food production,” she concludes.

By Sichong Wang