Best and Worst Foods for Pesticide Residues in the UK 1. The 20 fruit and vegetables with the highest prevalence of multiple pesticide residues on produce tested in the UK between 2011-2015 (sorted by multiple residues)
Ranking Produce 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Oranges Soft citrus Lemons and limes Strawberries Pears Grapes Oranges (Seville) Herbs Apples Cherries Peaches and nectarines Pineapple Apricots Banana Prepacked salad leaves Spring greens & kale Pre-prepared salad leaves Cucumber Berries Raspberries
Single residue occurrence %
Multiple residue occurrence %
100.00 100.00 94.44 91.67 93.82 89.47 78.76 75.79 82.02 86.46 83.33 90.74 81.94 77.22 74.85 68.89 73.24 64.43 54.17 58.86
100.00 95.37 92.59 87.50 86.45 75.73 74.34 71.58 65.29 63.54 62.50 62.04 61.11 58.86 58.08 52.22 52.11 40.21 39.58 35.44
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2. The 20 fruit and vegetables with the lowest prevalence of multiple pesticide residues on produce tested in the UK between 2011–2015 (sorted by multiple residues)
Ranking Produce 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Beetroot Cauliflower Corn (on the cob) Figs Mushrooms Onions Rhubarb Swede Turnip Peas Spring onions Asparagus Radish Avocado Peas without pods Sweet potato Leeks Broad beans Pumpkin and squash Broccoli
Single residue occurrence %
Multiple residue occurrence %
7.41 0.00 0.00 4.17 33.33 70.83 2.44 14.00 0.00 11.46 25.00 8.33 53.70 44.44 23.96 58.33 15.63 43.75 31.25 25.60
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.04 1.39 2.08 3.70 4.44 5.21 5.56 6.25 8.33 8.33 9.52
3. Ranking for presence of single and multiple pesticide residues in starchy food and grain tested in the UK between 2011–2015 (sorted by multiple residues)
Ranking Produce 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Oats Wheat Cereal bars Rice Bread Flour (wheat) Crackers Noodles Lentils Pulses Rice cakes Bread (gluten free) Bread (part bake)
Single residue occurrence %
Multiple residue occurrence %
96.92 95.71 89.58 44.20 61.93 92.81 29.17 38.89 8.33 11.11 12.50 0.00 75.00
83.08 65.71 33.33 31.88 20.36 20.14 16.67 5.56 2.38 1.85 1.39 0.00 0.00
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4. Ranking for presence of single and multiple pesticide residues on produce of animal origin tested in the UK between 2011–2015 (sorted by multiple residues)
Ranking Produce 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Chicken (processed) Smoked fish Cheese (hard) Pork (processed products) Butter Cheese Lamb Fish (fresh water) Oily fish Beef Burgers Crème fraiche Eggs Honey Liver Milk Minced meat Pork Poultry meat Prawns Shellfish Venison White fish Yoghurt
Single residue occurrence %
Multiple residue occurrence %
45.83 22.69 19.44 29.63 23.12 7.04 21.11 12.84 5.50 0.00 4.17 37.50 2.22 0.00 8.59 0.13 0.00 1.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.62 0.00
8.33 7.87 4.17 2.78 2.01 1.85 1.11 0.92 0.92 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
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5. Ranking of presence of single and multiple pesticide residues on “other groceries” tested in the UK 2011 – 2015 (sorted by multiple residues)
Ranking Produce 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Single residue occurrence %
Multiple residue occurrence %
83.67 72.92 69.57 83.33 56.30 20.00 48.15 72.22 29.79 54.55 36.73 29.17 18.57 10.00 73.33 7.29 0.00 5.56 0.00 18.18 2.78 16.67 12.35 2.78 25.00 37.50 0.00 0.00 2.08
63.27 52.08 43.48 41.67 31.93 29.09 22.22 19.44 19.15 18.18 16.33 8.33 6.43 4.44 3.33 1.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Raisins, currants, sultanas Grapes (dried) Pesto Beans (tinned) Crisps Spices Herbal infusions and tea Cherries (tinned) Speciality beans (dried) Wine Apple puree Strawberries (tinned) Orange juice Tea Oranges, mandarins (tinned) Fruit juice (other) Apple juice Beer Chocolate Coffee Edible seeds Nuts Olive oil Olives Peanuts Peas (tinned) Rhubarb (tinned) Soya products Tomato products
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6. % of presence of multiple pesticide residues on all produce tested in the UK 2011 – 2015
Produce
% of samples with multiple residues
1
Oranges
100.00
2
Soft citrus
95.37
3
Lemons and limes
92.59
4
Strawberries
87.5
5
Pears
86.45
6
Oats
83.08
7
Grapes
75.73
8
Oranges (Seville)
74.34
9
Herbs
71.58
10
Wheat
65.71
11
Apples
65.29
12
Cherries
63.54
13
Raisins, currants, sultanas
63.27
14
Peaches and nectarines
62.5
15
Pineapple
62.04
16
Apricots
61.11
17
Banana
58.86
18
Prepacked salad leaves
58.08
19
Spring greens & kale
52.22
20
Pre-prepared salad leaves
52.11
21
Grapes (dried)
52.08
22
Pesto
43.48
23
Beans (tinned)
41.67
24
Cucumber
40.21
25
Berries
39.58
26
Raspberries
35.44
27
Spinach
34.34
28
Celery
34.17
29
Cereal bars
33.33
30
Tomatoes
32.29
31
Crisps
31.93
32
Rice
31.88
33
Chilli peppers
31.25
34
Beans with pods
30.67
35
Speciality fruit
30.32
36
Lettuce
29.34
37
Peas with pods
29.17
38
Spices
29.09
39
Garlic
28.89
40
Mango
27.08
41
Prepared fresh fruit
27.08
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42
Melon
26.67
43
Plums
26.04
44
Parsnips
25
45
Peppers
24.57
46
Carrots
23.44
47
Aubergine
22.4
48
Herbal infusions and tea
22.22
49
Plantain
20.83
50
Okra
20.65
51
Bread
20.36
52
Flour (wheat)
20.14
53
Cherries (tinned)
19.44
54
Speciality beans (dried)
19.15
55
Wine
18.18
56
Brussels sprouts
16.67
57
Courgette
16.67
58
Crackers
16.67
59
Apple puree
16.33
60
Speciality vegetables
14.62
61
Potatoes
14.47
62
Kiwi fruit
13.89
63
Curry leaves
13.64
64
Cabbage
12.5
65
Ginger
12.5
66
Bean Sprouts
10.42
67
Broccoli
9.52
68
Broad beans
8.33
69
Pumpkin and squash
8.33
70
Chicken (processed)
8.33
71
Strawberries (tinned)
8.33
72
Smoked fish
7.87
73
Orange juice
6.43
74
Leeks
6.25
75
Sweet potato
5.56
76
Noodles
5.56
77
Peas without pods
5.21
78
Avocado
4.44
79
Tea
4.44
80
Cheese (hard)
4.17
81
Radish
3.7
82
Oranges, mandarins (tinned)
3.33
83
Pork (processed products)
2.78
84
Lentils
2.38
85
Asparagus
2.08
86
Butter
2.01
87
Pulses
1.85
88
Cheese
1.85
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89
Spring onions
1.39
90
Rice cakes
1.39
91
Lamb
1.11
92
Peas
1.04
93
Fruit juice (other)
1.04
94
Fish (fresh water)
0.92
95
Oily fish
0.92
96
Beetroot
0
96
Cauliflower
0
96
Corn (on the cob)
0
96
Figs
0
96
Mushrooms
0
96
Onions
0
96
Rhubarb
0
96
Swede
0
96
Turnip
0
96
Bread (gluten free)
0
96
Bread (part bake)
0
96
Beef
0
96
Burgers
0
96
Crème fraiche
0
96
Eggs
0
96
Honey
0
96
Liver
0
96
Milk
0
96
Minced meat
0
96
Pork
0
96
Poultry meat
0
96
Prawns
0
96
Shellfish
0
96
Venison
0
96
White fish
0
96
Yoghurt
0
96
Apple juice
0
96
Beer
0
96
Chocolate
0
96
Coffee
0
96
Edible seeds
0
96
Nuts
0
96
Olive oil
0
96
Olives
0
96
Peanuts
0
96
Peas (tinned)
0
96
Rhubarb (tinned)
0
96
Soya products
0
96
Tomato products
0
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