Pesticides residues in selected European food

A 2021 analysis of pesticide residue concentration in European food crops revealed that grapefruits had the highest percentage of samples with pesticide residue concentrations exceeding the maximum residue level (MRL). Among these samples, 7.56 percent were considered non-compliant due to measurement uncertainty. Overall, the analysis of 13,845 samples showed that 58.1 percent had no detectable residues, 39.8 percent had residues within legally permitted levels, and 2.1 percent had exceeded the MRL.

Share of selected food types containing residues of pesticides in Europe in 2021, by concentration range

Characteristic	Below LOQ	Between LOQ and MRL	Above MRL	Non-compliant
Wheat	68.92%	29.56%	1.53%	1.12%
Virgin olive oil	83.58%	16.13%	0.29%	0%
Table grapes	18.23%	79.64%	2.13%	0.82%
Sweet/bell peppers	46.99%	49.57%	3.44%	2.37%
Melons	47.58%	51.13%	1.29%	0.64%
Grapefruits	18.37%	71.71%	9.92%	7.56%
Cultivated fungi	59.88%	37.94%	2.18%	1.25%
Chicken eggs	97.53%	2.47%	0%	0%
Broccoli	60.1%	38.24%	1.66%	0.93%
Bovine fat	95.27%	4.68%	0.05%	0%
Bananas	31.18%	66.56%	2.26%	1.29%
Aubergines	50.5%	47.41%	2.09%	0.7%
Average	58.1%	39.8%	2.1%	1.3%

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Release date

April 2023

More information

Region

Europe

Survey time period

2021

Number of respondents

13,845 respondents

Supplementary notes

LOQ: limit of quantification. The lowest concentration of a substance that can be reliably measured.
MRL: maximum residue level. The maximum amount of residue that is legally allowed to be present in food or feed products.
Non-compliant refers to samples that have exceeded the maximum residue limit (MRL) or have measurement uncertainty that prevents accurate determination of compliance with the MRL.

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