Number of residues on fruit and vegetables increases

The Pesticide Action Network Netherlands (PAN NL) observes that Dutch fruit and vegetables contain more and more pesticides. This is evident from an analysis of NVWA measurement data on pesticide residues of the past 7 years.

Rising trend in number of residues

In 2020, fruit contained an average of 3.6 residues per measurement. The trend analysis shows that the number of residues in Dutch potatoes, vegetables and fruit is on the rise. It also appears that fruit grown in the Netherlands regularly contains more residues than products from abroad. PAN Netherlands therefore urges Minister of Agriculture Schouten to work towards her ambition to produce virtually residue-free products in the Netherlands by 2030.

The fruit products with the most residues are sultanas (average 11.3 pesticides), nectarines (6.8), strawberries (6.3) and grapes (6.0). Vegetables contain slightly less residues with an average of 2.2 residues per sample, with head lettuce (6.3) and long beans (6.2) as outliers. Potatoes contain 1.6 residues on average.

Read the report ‘Analyse NVWA-meetgegevens bestrijdingsmiddelen in voedsel’(Dutch only)
Pan-netherlands.org