April 9, 2024 – 3:58 pm
According to activists, the British government should ban 25 pesticides that contain so-called persistent compounds, i.e. PFAS – Sky News reports. This potentially toxic substance is found in more than half of the foods and drinks available in Great Britain.
PFASs accumulate in the human body and have been linked to many serious health problems. Therefore, the European Parliament will ban it in food packaging. Of the 25 pesticides they campaign against, two are classified as extremely dangerous.
Strawberries were in the worst condition, with PFAS found in 95 percent of 120 samples. They looked for residues of a total of 401 different pesticides on food. PFAS were found in at least 15% of peaches, cucumbers, apricots and beans, and 56.4% of all foods tested.
- 61 percent of 109 grape samples,
- 56% of 121 cherry samples,
- 96 spinach samples, 42 percent and
- PFAS were also found in 38 percent of 96 tomato samples.
All were below the legal level, but 1.8% were found in quantities above the legal limit.
According to the authority, even this does not necessarily pose a danger to the human body, but according to activists, the limit value does not guarantee that consumption below it will be safe. They added that the investigation did not take into account other ways (for example, through packaging materials) by which PFASs could be introduced into the body.