A new analysis commissioned by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation shows that traces of pesticides are found in fruit, vegetables, flour, and oil – both in Swedish-grown and imported foods.
The analysis shows that 74 percent of non-organic food contained pesticide residues. In organic products, residues were found in eight percent. Organically grown food is produced without chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers.
The tests included, among other things, apples, grapes, kale, peppers, tomatoes, wheat flour, and rapeseed oil.
– The foods where we find the highest levels are apples and grapes. We found seven different pesticides, or residues thereof, in a Swedish-grown apple, says Karin Lexén from the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation to Sveriges Radio.
None of the tested items contained pesticides above current limit values. Despite this, Karin Lexén considers the results worrying. This is because they know very little about how different chemical substances interact with each other.
Anneli Widenfalk at the Swedish Food Agency says that there is currently no evidence that residues of several pesticides in food affect health. But she also points out that our knowledge is limited when it comes to combination effects.
– Unfortunately, the current knowledge is not sufficient to assess the combination effects of all chemical substances that we may ingest through food or from other sources, Widenfalk tells Sveriges Radio.