Lab tests: foodwatch finds EU-banned pesticides in rice, tea, and spices
- Pesticides
consumer organisation demands EU action to stop the “toxic pesticides boomerang”
- 49 samples of everyday food products found to contain several approved and non-approved pesticides residues
- EU Commission action to stop the trade of pesticides not approved in the EU and to protect consumers from their residues is overdue
- EU food safety omnibus proposals on the table put consumers at higher risk of exposure to harmful pesticides and their residues
+++ foodwatch report with all test results +++
Laboratory tests carried out by foodwatch found residues of multiple pesticides, including pesticides not approved for use or sale in the EU, in everyday food products such as rice, tea, and spices. Although these agricultural chemicals are not allowed on the EU market, they continue to be manufactured and sold to third countries – and find their way back to Europe via imported food, as foodwatch’s laboratory tests show. The international consumer organisation calls on the European Commission to stop the toxic trade and toxic boomerang.
In line with commitments made by the EU Commission in 2020, President Ursula von der Leyen must now ban the export of harmful chemicals that are not authorised in the EU. The Commission should also commit to automatically bringing the maximum residue limits of such banned substances to the lowest possible level. A recently published legal study shows that the Commission can already do so under current EU law. Far from tightening safeguards, the recent Commission proposal for a “Food and Feed Omnibus” legislative package fails consumers, criticised foodwatch. On the one hand, it does not deliver comprehensive action to protect citizens from residues of non-approved pesticides. On the other hand, it proposes to loosen existing rules for the safety assessment of all pesticides and the control of their residues.
“Residues of non-approved pesticides making their way onto Europeans’ plates is one of the real-life consequences of the European Commission’s failure to keep its promises. EU action to stop the unethical trade of banned pesticides and to minimise consumers’ exposure to their residues is long overdue. Despite optimistic announcements, the recent proposals of the food safety omnibus will not stop the toxic boomerang for European consumers. Adding insult to injury, they will also relax essential safety checks for all pesticides and controls of their residues in food”, said Natacha Cingotti from foodwatch International.
Laboratory tests: Pesticides Residues Found in Tea, Rice and Spices
foodwatch tested 64 products from the Netherlands, France, Austria, and Germany. The samples included rice grain, paprika powder, different types of tea, cumin seeds and curry powder. The alarming results:
- 49 products contained residues of (sometimes several) pesticides.
- 45 products contained one or more residues of pesticides that are not approved in the EU. Paprika powder, chili, and cumin were especially affected: all samples of these products contained residues of not-approved pesticides.
- 14 samples contained residues above the legally allowed limit (whether approved pesticides or not) and should therefore not be on the market.
- One paprika powder contained a total of 22 different pesticides, 6 of them not approved.
- Frequently detected non-approved pesticides included Chlorfenapyr, Bifenthrin, Spirotetramat, the bee-killing pesticides Clothianidin, Thiametoxam, and Imadacloprid, and the fungicide Isoprothiolane.
- According to official data from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), six of those pesticides were exported from European Member States to third countries during the period 2024-2025.
“Poison in the pantry is unacceptable. Pesticides that are banned in the EU have no place in our food. European consumers as well as agricultural workers and communities abroad need to be protected from harmful pesticides”, said Natacha Cingotti from foodwatch International.
Consumer organisation criticises: EU “Omnibus” weakens pesticide protection standards
foodwatch urges the Commission to tighten, rather than dilute, Europe’s regulations on pesticides and their residues. With the so-called Food and Feed Safety Simplification legislative package (or food safety Omnibus), the EU Commission proposes to drastically change the logic of the safety assessments of pesticides active substances, by removing the automatic periodic reviews (making unlimited authorisations the rule) and relaxing the obligation to take into account the latest available scientific evidence in the assessments – among others. It also suggests removing the periodic reviews of pesticides residue limits. And even when a residue limit gets lowered over time, it suggests allowing using the old higher value for a longer period – under the argument that it will minimise food waste.
Furthermore, the omnibus is silent about the long overdue promise to stop the trade of pesticides that are no longer approved for use in the EU, and the proposals it puts forward regarding residues of those substances in imported food are far from guaranteeing a zero tolerance on imported food. Overall, if these proposals go through, they will lead to higher exposure of consumers to harmful pesticides and their residues.
As the European Parliament and Member States have started scrutinising the Omnibus package, foodwatch calls on them to reject the current proposals on the table. Citizens can already contact Members of the European Parliament to ask them to reject the dangerous food safety omnibus via an online tool made available by foodwatch. Meanwhile, an online petition asking the European Commission to stop the toxic trade and the toxic boomerang has already been signed by around 115,000 people and is still open for support.