Analysts have raised the alarm about potentially harmful pesticides linked to cancer and infertility found in fruits such as satsumas and oranges imported into Britain.
Campaign group Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) used government testing data to show that 46 cancer-related pesticides had been detected in imports of agricultural produce into Britain up to the end of last year.
This was more than double the 19 such pesticides found in British produce.
Similar results were found for pesticides linked to fertility and nervous system damage, with double and triple the number of such chemicals found in imports compared to British products.
By food group, ‘mild citrus’, which includes satsumas, tangerines and clementines, had the biggest change from having a cocktail of multiple pesticides present, with 96 percent of samples tested testing positive.
Oranges and lemons followed, where multiple pesticides were detected in 95 and 89 percent of the samples.
The three types of fruit contained up to nine different pesticides, and all of these samples were imported from South Africa.
For individual fruits, Lebanon grapes had the most pesticides of any item, with 13 substances detected in one sample tested.
Analysts have raised the alarm about potentially harmful pesticides, some linked to cancer and infertility, being found in products imported into Britain. stock image
Indian beans were also found to have high levels of pesticide residues exceeding the UK legal limit (detected in 10 of 25 samples tested).
Overall, 31 per cent of British products were found to contain multiple pesticides, but this figure rose to 55 per cent in imports.
Nick Mole of PAN UK said: “Although the results for UK produce are also worrying, when it comes to pesticides that pose a risk to consumer health, imports tend to be much worse than those for farmed food. here in the UK.”
“With rising rates of diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s, we should do everything we can to reduce our exposure to chemicals.
‘But the UK government is allowing larger amounts of chemicals to appear in a growing list of common foods. “They urgently need to reverse this current trend.”
PAN UK has been campaigning for a review of British pesticide testing.
Current standards set safe limits for pesticides by chemical, meaning that in practice a fruit with a total of 13 chemicals is considered just as safe as another with only two chemicals, as long as they are all below the limit. limit.
Previous research has suggested that exposure to agricultural pesticides could be as bad as tobacco smoke for increasing the risk of certain types of cancer.
PAN UK maintains that this approach ignores concerns about the combined and cumulative effect of using such substances in terms of our long-term health.
The group also warned that more pesticide-laden foods could soon hit British supermarket shelves.
They highlighted how the UK is in the midst of negotiating a trade deal with India, meaning food imports from the country, which has laxer rules on pesticide use than Britain, could increase.
Mr Mole said: ‘We have long been concerned that new trade deals signed by the UK since leaving the EU pose a significant health risk to British consumers.
‘This is especially true when it comes to countries like India that struggle with high pesticide residues in their food exports.
“As today’s findings are based on imports that have already crossed our borders, we strongly urge the government to take action to protect British consumers.”
Government testing data analyzed by PAN UK also found that foreign food imports had twice the amount of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which can interfere with the body’s hormonal system, compared to British products.
The same was true for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, also known as permanent chemicals because of how they persist in the environment, which have also been linked to problems like cancer, birth defects, immune system problems and infertility. .
Pesticides and their potential role in increasing cancer cases have been a topic of concern for years.
Some experts have blamed them for the rise in bowel cancers among young people, while others have pointed out that they potentially trigger prostate cancer.