The From farm to Fork strategy of the EU sets ambitious objectives for the reduction of pesticides in agriculture, the use of which must be halved by 2030. At the moment, however, in the Old Continent the percentage of agri-food products with residues higher than those permitted by law Is increasing. The data comes from EFSA, the EU Food Safety Authority: according to the latest report, food that does not pass the test has gone from 1.4% (2018 data) to 2.1%.
From olive oil to mushrooms, from broccoli to grapes, from wheat to eggs, over 87,000 food samples have been examined by the Authority. The result is that, despite the good intentions, the outlaw quota has increased. For once, Italy ranks among the most virtuous countries: only 0.7% of the products analyzed showed that they contain residues exceeding the limits set by law.
If 2% of food does not pass the test, the EFSA report also highlights that there is a good 40% of products that still have traces of pesticides, albeit below the prohibited threshold. Only 58.1% of foods were found to be completely harmful chemicals first. Among the most contaminated foods, the Authority points out grapefruit from outside the EU.