21/02/2026
Pesticides are widely used in conventional farming, and although UK food safety limits are regulated, residues can still remain on fruit and vegetables. If buying everything organic isn’t realistic, it can help to prioritise certain produce that tends to carry higher pesticide residues — particularly soft fruits like blueberries and strawberries, as well as spinach, grapes and peppers. Washing produce thoroughly under running water is important. Research shows that soaking fruit and vegetables in a solution of bicarbonate of soda (about 1 teaspoon per 500ml water for 10–15 minutes) can help reduce surface pesticide residues more effectively than water alone. Vinegar can help remove bacteria but isn’t proven to be as effective specifically for pesticide removal.
British shoppers are being sold food grown with “toxic” pesticides that have been banned by the EU for their links to cancer and infertility, according to an article in The Times this week.
While the EU prohibits use of the ten substances because of their serious health and environmental risks, new analysis has found that they're still sprayed on UK crops including strawberries, potatoes and grains. A recent lobbying drive could see them used for years, rather than being banned more quickly as part of an EU trade deal.
The analysis was produced by Unearthed, the investigative arm of Greenpeace, and it identified ten pesticides widely used in British agriculture despite being banned in the EU after scientific reviews found them to be carcinogenic, toxic to reproduction or identified them as endocrine disruptors that interfere with hormones.
The substances include dimethomorph, a fungicide sprayed on strawberries, onions and garlic and banned in the EU after it was classified as “toxic to reproduction”, benthiavalicarb, classified as a carcinogen and an endocrine disruptor and Ipconazole, used on wheat and barley seeds, classified as toxic to reproduction and capable of harming unborn babies.
It's utterly shocking that the UK has fallen so far behind the EU when it comes to safety standards in our food systems. British regulators need to take urgent action on this, and follow the EU's lead in banning these harmful substances.
Organic farming doesn't use any of these - while hundreds of synthetic pesticides are routinely used in conventional growing, just 16 substances can be used to help control pests in an organic system, and they're mostly derived from natural ingredients like garlic and clove oil. Around 90% of Soil Association-certified organic farmers use no pesticides at all, instead using ecological phenomena to our advantage.
But it's completely unacceptable that shoppers buying non-organic produce are being put at risk in this way. We're glad to see this conversation getting national coverage - hopefully it puts some pressure on our regulators to raise the bar and ban these harmful substances.
The full article is on The Times website.
