PAN Europe: "European strawberries widely contaminated with cocktails of highly toxic pesticides”

“Strawberries produced in the EU are significantly contaminated with cocktails of highly toxic pesticides”, reveals a new investigation from PAN Europe and its partner NGOs, published on 07/07/2026.

The report “European strawberries: extensively contaminated with PFAS or endocrine disrupting pesticide residues” examines residue levels in 41 locally-produced strawberry samples collected across 11 EU countries, covering conventional, organic and pesticide-free production.

“On average, European strawberries are contaminated with 3.5 different pesticides substances and the most frequently found pesticides are among the most toxic ones approved in the EU: endocrine disruptors, PFAS, and neurotoxic pesticides”, it specifies.

The report also points to a gap in the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) assessment methodology: the agency has been legally required since 2005 to develop a method for assessing the combined risk of multiple pesticide residues, but has not yet produced one, leaving “little knowledge of the health impacts of cumulative and synergistic cocktail effects, and no…