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Toxic Harvest.- The rise of Forever Pesticides in Fruit and Veg in Europe

Full report HERE: The rise of forever pesticides
in fruit and vegetables in Europe 91 pages free pdf

from thefreeonline via EcologistasEnAccion

TOXIC HARVEST
Summary

PFAS or “forever chemicals” are sprayed on crops in the form of pesticides, making fresh fruits and vegetables a route of direct exposure with serious consequences for health and nature.
The report “Toxic Harvest”, published by the European Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) and Ecologistas en Acción, reveals that food on sale in the EU is contaminated by PFAS pesticides.

In 2021, 75% of Spanish strawberries had residues of these toxins.
This contamination has increased in the last 10 years, by 148% in the case of vegetables and 80% in the case of fruit.

Fruit and vegetables in Europe are increasingly
contaminated with PFAS pesticide residues.
This is shown in the analysis of official data
from the national monitoring programmes of
pesticide residues in food in Member States.

The number of European fruit and vegetables
with detected PFAS pesticide residues has
nearly tripled between 2011 and 2021, with a
growth rate of 220% for fruit and of 274% for
vegetables.

PFAS can cause serious damage to health and nature, such as the appearance of cancer or child development problems. Many show adverse effects, even at low concentrations, on the liver, immune system and endocrine system, which is why some have already been restricted in the EU

However, there are many others left on the market, the result of what is known as “regrettable substitution” by their manufacturers.

On the other hand, the persistence and toxicity for human health of the most detected PFAS pesticides are well documented. This includes risks to fetuses, brain damage, endocrine system disruption, and cancer. For all of the above, the solution that the EU has proposed is the restriction of all PFAS.

The report “Toxic harvest: the rise of perennial pesticides in fruits and vegetables in Europe”, published by PAN Europe and Ecologistas en Acción, shows that agriculture contributes to PFAS contamination. Such chemicals have been deliberately introduced by the industry into pesticide products, adding fluorine atoms to the product to increase its effectiveness.

In some of the EU Member States
studied individually, the growth rate has been
even more dramatic: Austria (+698% for fruit,
+3277% for vegetables) and Greece (+696% in
fruit, +1974% in vegetables).

A detailed analysis of the 2021 data, the most
recent published to date, provides a more refined
picture of the contamination. It shows that non-
organic fruit, especially summer fruit, are the
products most frequently contaminated with PFAS
pesticide residues.