EU pesticide monitoring: food increasingly contaminated with perennial chemicals (PFAS)
Around 15% of fruit and vegetables grown in the EU contain pesticide residues from the PFAS group (perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), also known as "eternity chemicals". Austrian fruit and vegetables are among the negative leaders. The proportion of these substances, which are highly problematic for health and the environment, in the total pesticide exposure of European consumers has almost tripled in just one decade. This is the result of the evaluation of over 270,000 pesticide data sets from the EU pesticide monitoring from 2011 to 2021, which is presented today by the European Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) together with GLOBAL 2000 in the report "Toxic Harvest".
"Our findings raise serious concerns for the environment and human health. But while EU-wide PFAS group bans have been announced for food contact materials, textiles and other consumer goods, little is known about the fact that large quantities of eternity chemicals also enter the environment and the human body as pesticides," explains Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, GLOBAL 2000 environmental chemist. Together with PAN Europe, GLOBAL 2000 is calling for an EU-wide ban on all PFAS pesticides.
Increase in the EU, Austria among the negative leaders
- Residues of 31 different PFAS pesticides were detected in fruit and vegetables in the EU between 2011 and 2021
- During this period, the proportion of fruit and vegetables contaminated with PFAS has almost tripled from less than 6% to around 15%.
- Products from Austria show the strongest increase, with a 7-fold increase in fruit and a 33-fold increase in vegetables.
- In absolute terms, Austria is also among the negative leaders with 25%, together with the Netherlands and Belgium (27% each).
In Austria, the most frequently contaminated with PFAS were
- domestic strawberries (70 %),
- followed by cucumbers (39%) and
- apples (38 %).
PFAS exposure in humans above tolerable guideline values
"Our study shows that European consumers are exposed to a cocktail of PFAS pesticides in fruit and vegetables," explains Salomé Roynel, Policy Officer at PAN Europe and study coordinator: "If you take a closer look at the most commonly detected PFAS pesticides, the evidence of their persistence in the environment and their toxicity to humans is well documented. These include in particular risks to unborn children, brain damage, endocrine disruption and cancer." The fact that PFAS exposure is too high for humans is also shown by the PFAS Report 2022 of the Austrian Federal Environment Agency. In Austrian mother-child studies, PFAS were detected in the blood serum, placenta or breast milk of all test subjects. It is particularly worrying that between 2010 and 2012, almost a third of mothers had PFAS concentrations in their blood that exceeded the current health-related guideline values. In a recent study, a quarter of European adolescents were also found to be exposed to PFAS, which could have a negative impact on the health of their offspring.
37 perennial pesticides currently approved throughout the EU
As part of the European Green Deal, the European Union has committed to gradually banning PFAS chemicals in line with its goal of a pollutant-free environment. In February 2023 published the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published a proposal for a ban the manufacture, use and import of at least 10,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
However, this proposal does not cover the 37 pesticide active substances currently approved in the EU (that is 16% of all approved synthetic pesticides) that have been classified as PFAS by the ECHA, as their approval is already "regulated" in the EU Pesticides Regulation. "It is unacceptable that perpetuating chemicals are deliberately introduced into the environment and food through pesticide use. PFAS pesticides must be banned. Farmers in the EU are rarely aware that they are spraying PFAS as this is not indicated on their products," concludes Burtscher-Schaden.
