Jen Mills
Published December 3, 2025 5:02pm
Updated December 3, 2025 5:16pm
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Bananas were among the fruits found to contain multiple pesticide residues (Picture: Getty)
Eating our five-a-day could mean we’re having a cocktail party, but instead of Mojitos, it’s a mix of weird pesticides.
That is the concerning conclusion from testing of 17 types of fruits and vegetables in the UK last year, which found 123 different chemicals, including 42 linked to cancer and 21 which interere with hormones.
The government, which published the results on November 20, say that in almost all cases, the amounts were within safe levels.
But the Pesticide Action Network UK (Pan UK), which analysed their data, said safety levels only looked at one chemical at a time, while in fact many become more toxic when combined with others, a phenomenon known as ‘the cocktail effect’.
Which fruit and veg were the most affected?
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Grapes were found to be among the worst offenders, with 90% of 108 samples tested having multiple pesticides present.
One sample of sultana grapes imported from Turkey contained residues of 16 different pesticides, including the manmade PFA ‘forever’ chemicals fluxapyroxad, cyflufenamid, fluopyram, and trifloxystrobin.
Unfortunately, you’ll find more than just vitamins and minerals in fruit and veg (Picture: Getty)
Grapefruit also didn’t fare well, with 99% of samples having multiple pesticide residues, with a single 1kg sample found to contain 10 different pesticides.
Elsewhere, 79% of the 24 lime samples tested contained multiple pesticides, followed by 67% of the 73 banana samples tested, 49% of the 96 sweet pepper samples tested and 46% of the 97 melons tested.
One sample of chili peppers were found to contain 11 different pesticides, while another sample of broccoli was found to contain eight.
The 12 fruits and vegetables which came out worst
- Grapefruit
- Grapes
- Limes
- Banana
- Peppers (sweet)
- Melon
- Beans
- Chilli pepper
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Aubergine
- Beans (dried)
Some of the usual worst offenders for pesticide contamination, such as spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes, were not included in the 2024 government testing as they only look at a selection each year, but that’s not to say they are risk free.
Other foods affected
Even some food sold as organic was found to have chemical residue, such as organic eggs, found to contain cyromazine in one sample. This is a biocidal product used to control flies in poultry house litter.
Organic Mamia Banana Fingers, a product designed for infants, was found to contain residue of Fosetyl-Al, used to control fungal growth in crops.
What are ‘forever chemicals’?
Many pesticides contain ‘forever’ PFAs, chemicals of particular concern because they do not break down for centuries and can accumulate in the body, with potentially severe health consequences.
Some of the pesticides found in the testing – 29% – are not even approved for use by British farmers, often because of the harms they cause to health or environment.
They can still end up in our food system if they are important from other countries outside the EU, where they are permitted.
Does washing fruit and veg remove pesticides?
It definitely removes more than not washing them would do.
But while peeling or soaking fruit in bicarbonate of soda can remove some of the surface level chemicals, some of the residues are in the flesh of the product itself, having grown into it rather than just being treated on the exterior.
This is one of the reasons it’s extremely difficult to eliminate exposure to pesticides.
Is our food safe?
The government’s Environment Committee which tested the samples – the Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues In Food, or PRiF – said that 51.26% of samples tested in 2024 contained none of the residues they were testing for.
Its report said 46.67% of samples tested did contain a residue, but this was below the maximum residue level (MRL) allowed in food by law.
Of the samples tested, 2.07% contained a residue above this level, though the government this does not necessarily mean it is unsafe given the limit has a conservative threshold in any case.
This implies that the vast majority of food sold has residues within safe limits – but Pan UK argues that the limits themselves need a rethink.
Grapes were one of the fruits with the highest levels of pesticide residue (Picture: Getty)
One reason for this is that they do not take into account the many other routes of potential PFA exposure, such as plastic food packaging, drinking water and a wide range of household products.
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Nick Mole, who conducted the analysis for Pan UK, said: ‘The truth is we know very little about how these chemicals interact with each other, or what this exposure to hundreds of different pesticides is doing to our health in the long-term.
‘Given how high the stakes are, the Government should be doing everything it can to get pesticides out of our food.’
The campaign group is calling for stricter regulations, including restrictions on importing food grown with pesticides banned in the UK, and reducing the use of pesticides in general.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: ‘We have placed strict limits on pesticide residues, which are set after rigorous risk assessments to ensure levels are safe for the public. These limits apply to both food produced domestically and imported from other countries.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
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