Although only 1.3 per cent of the total is found to be illegal, 34 per cent of the food analysed has a multi-residue problem: multiple pesticides present in permitted quantities, but whose combined effect is potentially harmful.
Strawberries, grapes, lettuce, peppers, eggs, meat and even tea leaves: almost 10,000 samples of fruit, vegetables and food of animal origin were placed under the microscope to check for the presence of chemical residues from substances used in agriculture. The work was carried out by Italian accredited public laboratories for the official control of pesticide residues in food, on samples of food of both Italian and foreign origin sold as non-organically farmed products.
Legambiente processed the data and compiled them into the dossier Stop pesticidi, presented in Rome, in collaboration with Alce Nero, in recent days. The fact that 61 per cent of the samples analysed proved to be compliant is certainly a positive finding, but it should not lead us to lower our guard regarding how many and which pesticide residues can be found in food and persist in the environment. What is cause for concern, in fact, is not so much the illegal samples — 1.3 per cent of the total — but the 34 per cent of compliant samples that contain one or more pesticide residues, resulting from the use of plant protection products in cultivation.
The problem is represented by what is known as multi-residue, which European regulations do not classify as illegal provided that each individual residue does not exceed the maximum permitted limit, even though the interaction between different active ingredients can also cause harmful effects on the human body. The substances most frequently found in the samples analysed are: boscalid, chlorpyrifos and fludioxonil. In fourth and fifth place we find metalaxyl and captan, both fungicides, while in sixth place is imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide banned since 2019 to protect pollinators.
The most exposed category proved to be fruit. Only 36 per cent of the samples analysed are free of pesticide residues, while 1.7 per cent are non-compliant and over 60 per cent, despite being considered compliant, contain one or more chemical residues. Some 64 per cent of pears, 61 per cent of table grapes and 57 per cent of peaches are compliant samples with multi-residues. Strawberries stand out for a 54 per cent share of compliant samples with multi-residues and also for a 3 per cent non-compliance rate. Some strawberry samples, including those of Italian origin, contain up to 9 residues simultaneously. The situation is similar for table grapes, which were found to contain up to 6 residues. All papaya samples proved non-compliant due to exceeding the maximum permitted limit for the fungicide carbendazim.
For vegetables, the picture is contradictory. On one hand, 64 per cent of samples contain no residues whatsoever. On the other, significant non-compliance rates are recorded in certain products, such as 8 per cent of peppers, 5 per cent of stem vegetables and over 2 per cent of pulses, compared with the average non-compliance rate for vegetables (1.8 per cent). Common to the vast majority of non-compliance cases is the exceeding of maximum residue limits for fungicides, the most recurrent of which is boscalid. As for products of animal origin, finally, 11 samples of Italian eggs (5 per cent of the total sampled) were found to be contaminated by the insecticide fipronil.
In the comparison between foreign and Italian samples, those showing more non-compliance and residues are the foreign ones: 3.9 per cent of foreign samples are non-compliant compared with 0.5 per cent of domestic ones, and at least one residue is present in 33 per cent of samples of foreign origin compared with 28 per cent of Italian ones.
On the organic farming front, the 134 samples analysed proved compliant and residue-free, with the exception of a single pear sample of unknown origin, which was found to be non-compliant due to the presence of fluopicolide. It is not currently possible to determine whether the non-compliance is attributable to accidental contamination, the drift effect or illegal use of the fungicide. The excellent result is also achieved thanks to the application of broad crop rotations and preventive agronomic practices, which help to counter the development of disease and to strengthen biological control through beneficial insects in the cultivated field.
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Only a modest quantity of the pesticide sprayed in the field generally reaches the target organism; the rest disperses into the air, water and soil, with the risk of groundwater contamination and the depletion of plant and animal biodiversity. These are effects to which insufficient weight is still given today, despite the findings of numerous authoritative scientific studies. Agriculture is, in fact, an important source of climate-altering gases, in particular methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O): according to the United Nations, these two gases alone account for 16.1 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. We hope that the future national action plan on the sustainable use of pesticides will provide for a strengthening of the monitoring system, placing at its centre the protection of the environment and of health, as well as the challenge of climate change.